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ATHENE AND HERMES 
(Page 20) - 



Ghildren 


<By 

Charles Kingsley 


Edited by Francis Kingsley Ball 
Illustrated by Otho Cushing 


Ginn and Company 

Boston ~New\brk ” Chicago - London 
Atlanta " Dallas - Columbus — San Francisco 


The Heroes 

or 

Greek Fairy Tales 



COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY GINN AND COMPANY 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
3I7- 8 




OCT -5 1917 

gUfrcnreum ffrcgg 

GINN AND COMPANY - PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 


©Cl. A 4738 5 8 
/ > 


EDITORIAL NOTE 

HARLES KINGSLEY’S Greek fairy tales lead 



us into a land of enchantment, where we all, 


young and old alike, may find " beauty, and wis- 
dom, and truth”; for, like the ancient Argonauts, "each 
of us has a Golden Fleece to seek, and a wild sea to sail 
over ere we reach it, and dragons to fight ere it be ours.” 
The reader should begin the book with the Preface, writ- 
ten by Kingsley to his children ; otherwise he will miss 
much of Kingsley himself and of his purpose in writing 
these stories. 

Some notes on persons and places have been added 
at the end of the book. But a good many of the geo- 
graphical localities are, as Kingsley says, but dreams and 
fables, and dim hints of unknown lands ; and therefore 
we should not go too far in attempting to identify poets’ 
dreams with prosy reality. 

The text of the present edition preserves the integrity 
of the first edition, published in 1856, except that the 
Preface has been slightly abridged and the spelling of a 
few proper names has been revised to bring them into 
conformity to the latest authorities. The illustrations 
are new. 


FRANCIS KINGSLEY BALL 


[V] 



TO 


MV CHILDREN 
ROSE, MAURICE, AND MARY 
A LITTLE PRESENT OF 


OLD GREEK FAIRY TALES 






CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE xi 

THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

PART 

I. How Perseus and his Mother came to Seriphos 3 

II. How Perseus vowed a Rash Vow 10 

III. How Perseus slew the Gorgon 26 

IV. How Perseus came to the Avthiops 40 

V. How Perseus came Home again 58 

THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

I. How the Centaur trained the Heroes on 

Pelion 65 

II. How Jason lost his Sandal in Anauros ... 79 

III. How THEY BUILT THE SHIP ARGO IN IOLCOS ... 93 

IV. How the Argonauts sailed to Colchis . . . . ioo 

V. How the Argonauts were driven into the 

Unknown Sea 136 

VI. What was the End of the Heroes 172 

THE STORY OF THESEUS 
I. How Theseus lifted the Stone . . . . . . 177 

II. How Theseus slew the Devourers of Men . . 185 

III. How Theseus slew the Minotaur 220 

IV. How Theseus fell by his Pride 229 

NOTES 235 

PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF NAMES .... 257 

[ix] 







































































































* 

























































































































































































THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


M Y DEAR CHILDREN, — Some of you have 
heard already of the old Greeks ; and all of 
you, as you grow up, will hear more and more 
of them. Those of you who are boys will, perhaps, spend 
a great deal of time in reading Greek books ; and the 
girls, though they may not learn Greek, will be sure to 
come across a great many stories taken from Greek 
history, and to see, I may say every day, things which 
we should not have had if it had not been for these old 
Greeks. You can hardly find a well-written book which 
has not in it Greek names, and words, and proverbs ; 
you cannot walk through a great town without passing 
Greek buildings ; you cannot go into a well-furnished 
room without seeing Greek statues and ornaments, even 
Greek patterns of furniture and paper ; so strangely 
have these old Greeks left their mark behind them upon 
this modern world in which we now live. And as you 
grow up, and read more and more, you will find that we 
owe to these old Greeks the beginnings of all our mathe- 
matics and geometry, that is, the science and knowledge 
of numbers, and of .the shapes of things, and of the 
forces which make things move and stand at rest ; and 
the beginnings of our geography and astronomy ; and of 
our laws, and freedom, and politics, that is, the science 


THE HEROES 


of how to rule a country, and make it peaceful and strong. 
And we owe to them, too, the beginning of our logic, 
that is, the study of words and of reasoning ; and of our 
metaphysics, that is, the study of our own thoughts and 
souls. And last of all, they made their language so 
beautiful that foreigners used to take it instead of their 
own ; and at last Greek became the common language of 
educated people all over the old world, from Persia and 
Egypt even to Spain and Britain. And therefore it was 
that the New Testament was written in Greek, that it 
might be read and understood by all the nations of the 
Roman empire ; so that, next to the Jews, and the Bible 
which the Jews handed down to us, we owe more to 
these old Greeks than to any people upon earth. 

Now, you must remember one thing, that " Greeks ” 
was not their real name. They called themselves always 
“ Hellens,” but the Romans miscalled them Greeks ; and 
we have taken that wrong name from the Romans — 
it would take a long time to tell you why. They were 
made up of many tribes and many small separate states ; 
and when you hear in this book of Minyse, and Athenians, 
and other such names, you must remember that they 
were all different tribes and peoples of the one great 
Hellen race, who lived in what we now call Greece, in 
the islands of the Archipelago, and along the coast of 
Asia Minor (Ionia, as they called it), from the Hellespont 
to Rhodes, and had afterwards colonies and cities in 
Sicily, and South Italy (which was called Great Greece), 
and along the shores of the Black Sea, at Sinope, and 
[xii] 


THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


Kertch, and at Sevastopol. And after that, again, they 
spread under Alexander the Great, and conquered Egypt, 
and Syria, and Persia, and the whole East. But that was 
many a hundred years after my stories ; for then there 
were no Greeks on the Black Sea shores, nor in Sicily, 
or Italy, or anywhere but in Greece and in Ionia. And 
if you are puzzled by the names of places in this book, 
you must take the maps and find them out. It will be a 
pleasanter way of learning geography than out of a dull 
lesson-book. 

Now, I love these old Hellens heartily ; and I should 
be very ungrateful to them if I did not, considering all 
that they have taught me ; and they seem to me like 
brothers, though they have all been dead and gone many 
a hundred years ago. So, as you must learn about them, 
whether you choose or not, I wish to be the first to 
introduce you to them, and to say, " Come hither, chil- 
dren, at this blessed Christmas time, when all God’s 
creatures should rejoice together, and bless Him who 
redeemed them all. Come and see old friends of mine, 
whom I knew long ere you were born. They are come 
to visit us at Christmas, out of the world where all live 
to God ; and to tell you some of their old fairy tales, 
which they loved when they were young like you.” 

P'or nations begin at first by being children like you, 
though they are made up of grown men. They are 
children at first like you, men and women with children’s 
hearts ; frank, and affectionate, and full of trust, and 
teachable, and loving to see and learn all the wonders 

[ xiii ] 


THE HEROES 


round them ; and greedy also, too often, and passionate 
and silly, as children are. 

Thus these old Greeks were teachable, and learnt 
from all the nations round. From the Phoenicians they 
learnt shipbuilding, and some say letters beside ; and from 
the Assyrians they learnt painting, and carving, and 
building in wood and stone ; and from the Egyptians 
they learnt astronomy, and many things which you 
would not understand. In this they were like our own 
forefathers, the Northmen, of whom you love to hear, 
who, though they were wild and rough themselves, were 
humble, and glad to learn from every one. Therefore 
God rewarded these Greeks, as He rewarded our fore- 
fathers, and made them wiser than the people who taught 
them, in everything they learnt ; for He loves to see 
men and children open-hearted, and willing to be taught ; 
and to him who uses what he has got, He gives more 
and more day by day. So these Greeks grew wise and 
powerful, and wrote poems which will live till the world’s 
end, which you must read for yourselves some day, in 
English at least, if not in Greek. And they learnt to 
carve statues, and build temples, which are still among the 
wonders of the world ; and many another wondrous thing 
God taught them, for which we are the wiser this day. 

Now, you must not think of them in this book as 
learned men, living in great cities, such as they were 
afterwards, when they wrought all their beautiful works, 
but as country people, living in farms and walled villages, 
in a simple, hard-working way ; so that the greatest kings 
[xiv] 


THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE 


and heroes cooked their own meals, and thought it no 
shame, and made their own ships and weapons, and fed 
and harnessed their own horses ; and the queens worked 
with their maidservants, and did all the business of the 
house, and spun, and wove, and embroidered, and made 
their husbands’ clothes and their own. So that a man 
was honored among them, not because he happened to 
be rich, but according to his skill, and his strength, and 
courage, and the number of things which he could do. 
For they were but grown-up children, though they were 
right noble children too ; and it was with them as it is 
now at school, the strongest and cleverest boy, though 
he be poor, leads all the rest. 

Now, while they were young and simple they loved 
fairy tales, as you do now. All nations do so when they 
are young : our old forefathers did, and called their 
stories “ Sagas.” I will read you some of them some 
day, some of the Eddas, and the Voluspa, and Beowulf, 
and the noble old Romances. The old Arabs, again, had 
their tales, which we now call " The Arabian Nights.” 
The old Romans had theirs, and they called them 
" Fabulae,” from which our word " fable” comes; but 
the old Hellens called theirs " Muthoi,” from which our 
new word " myth ” is taken. But next to those old 
Romances, which were written in the Christian middle 
age, there are no fairy tales like these old Greek ones, 
for beauty, and wisdom, and truth, and for making 
children love noble deeds, and trust in God to help 
them through. 


[XV] 


THE HEROES 


Now, why have I called this book " The Heroes ” ? 
Because that was the name which the Hellens gave to 
men who were brave and skillful, and dared do more 
than other men. At first, I think, that was all it meant : 
but after a time it came to mean something more ; it 
came to mean men who helped their country ; men in 
those old times, when the country was half wild, who 
killed fierce beasts and evil men, and drained swamps, 
and founded towns, and therefore, after they were dead, 
were honored because they had left their country better 
than they found it. And we call such a man a hero 
in English to this day, and call it a " heroic ” thing to 
suffer pain and grief, that we may do good to our feliow 
men. We may all do that, my children, boys and girls 
alike ; and we ought to do it, for it is easier now than 
ever, and safer, and the path more clear. But you shall 
hear how the Hellens said their heroes worked three 
thousand years ago. The stories are not all true, of 
course, nor half of them ; you are not simple enough to 
fancy that : but the meaning of them is true, and true 
forever, and that is, " Do right, and God will help you.” 

Farley Court 

Advent , 1855 


[xvi] 


THE HEROES 




















































THE HEROES 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

PART I 

HOW PERSEUS AND HIS MOTHER CAME TO 
SERIPHOS 

O NCE upon a time there were two princes 
who were twins. Their names were 
Acrisius and Prcetus, and they lived in 
the pleasant vale of Argos, far away in Hellas. 
They had fruitful meadows and vineyards, sheep 
and oxen, great herds of horses feeding down 
in Lerna Fen, and all that men could need to 
make them blest: and yet they were wretched, 
because they were jealous of each other. From 
the moment they were born they began to 
quarrel ; and when they grew up, each tried to 
[ 3 ] 


THE HEROES 


take away the other’s share of the kingdom, and 
keep all for himself. So first Acrisius drove 
out Proetus; and he went across the seas, and 
brought home a foreign princess for his wife, 
and foreign warriors to help him, who were 
called Cyclopes; and drove out Acrisius in his 
turn ; and then they fought a long while up and 
down the land, till the quarrel was settled, and 
Acrisius took Argos and one half the land, 
and Proetus took Tiryns and the other half. 
And Proetus and his Cyclopes built around 
Tiryns great walls of unhewn stone, which are 
standing to this day. 

But there came a prophet to that hard-hearted 
Acrisius, and prophesied against him, and said, 
" Because you have risen up against your own 
blood, your own blood shall rise up against you ; 
because you have sinned against your kindred, 
by your kindred you shall be punished. Your 
daughter Danae shall bear a son, and by that 
son’s hand you shall die. So the Gods have 
ordained, and it will surely come to pass.” 

And at that Acrisius was very much afraid ; 
but he did not mend his ways. He had been 
cruel to his own family, and, instead of repent- 
ing and being kind to them, he went on to be 
[ 4 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


more cruel than ever : for he shut up his fair 
daughter Danae in a cavern underground, lined 
with brass, that no one might come near her. 
So he fancied himself more cunning than the 
Gods ; but you will see presently whether he 
was able to escape them. 

Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore 
a son ; so beautiful a babe that any but King 
Acrisius would have had pity on it: but he had 
no pity. For he took Danae and her babe down 
to the seashore, and put them into a great chest 
and thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the 
waves to carry them whithersoever they would. 

The northwest wind blew freshly out of the 
blue mountains, and down the pleasant vale of 
Argos, and away and out to sea. And away 
and out to sea before it floated the mother and 
her babe, while all who watched them wept, save 
that cruel father, King Acrisius. 

So they floated on and on, and the chest 
danced up and down upon the billows, and the 
baby slept upon its mother s breast ; but the 
poor mother could not sleep, but watched and 
wept, and she sang to her baby as they floated ; 
and the song which she sang you shall learn 
yourself some day. 


[ 5 ] 


THE HEROES 


And now they are past the last blue head- 
land, and in the open sea ; and there is noth- 
ing round them but the waves, and the sky, and 
the wind. But the waves are gentle, and the sky 
is clear, and the breeze is tender and low; for 
these are the days when Halcyone and Ceyx 
build their nests, and no storms ever ruffle the 
pleasant summer sea. 

And who were Halcyone and Ceyx ? You shall 
hear while the chest floats on. Halcyone was a 
fairy maiden, the daughter of the beach and of the 
wind. And she loved a sailor boy, and married 
him ; and none on earth were so happy as they. 
But at last Ceyx was wrecked ; and before he 
could swim to the shore, the billows swallowed 
him up. And Halcyone saw him drowning, and 
leapt into the sea to him ; but in vain. Then the 
Immortals took pity on them both, and changed 
them into two fair sea birds ; and now they build 
a floating nest every year, and sail up and down 
happily forever, upon the pleasant seas of Greece. 

So a night passed, and a day, and a long day 
it was for Danae; and another night and day 
beside, till Danae was faint with hunger and 
weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all 
J:he while the babe slept quietly ; and at last 
[ 6 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


poor Danae dropped her head and fell asleep 
likewise, with her cheek against the babe’s. 

After a while she was awakened suddenly ; 
for the chest was jarring and grinding, and the 
air was full of sound. She looked up, and over 
her head were mighty cliffs, all red in the set- 
ting sun, and around her rocks and breakers, and 
flying flakes of foam. She clasped her hands to- 
gether, and shrieked aloud for help. And when 
she cried, help met her : for now there came 
over the rocks a tall and stately man, and looked 
down wondering upon poor Danae tossing about 
in the chest among the waves. 

He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his 
head a broad hat to shade his face; in his hand 
he carried a trident for spearing fish, and over 
his shoulder was a casting net : but Danae could 
see that he was no common man by his stature, 
and his walk, and his flowing golden hair and 
beard ; and by the two servants who came be- 
hind him, carrying baskets for his fish. But 
she had hardly time to look at him, before he 
had laid aside his trident, and leapt down the 
rocks, and thrown his casting net so surely over 
Danae and the chest, that he drew it, and her, 
and the baby, safe upon a ledge of rock. 

[ 7 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, 
and lifted her out of the chest, and said, "O beau- 
tiful damsel, what strange chance has brought 
you to this island in so frail a ship ? Who are 
you, and whence? Surely you are some king’s 
daughter ; and this boy has somewhat more 
than mortal.” 

And as he spoke, he pointed to the babe ; for 
its face shone like the morning star. 

But Danae only held down her head, and 
sobbed out, " Tell me to what land I have come, 
unhappy that I am ; and among what men I have 
fallen.” 

And he said, " This isle is called Seriphos, 
and I am a Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the 
brother of Polydectes the king ; and men call 
me Dictys the netter, because I catch the fish 
of the shore.” 

Then Danae fell down at his feet, and em- 
braced his knees, and cried, " Oh, sir, have pity 
upon a stranger, whom a cruel doom has driven 
to your land ; and let me live in your house 
as a servant ; but treat me honorably, for I was 
once a king’s daughter, and this my boy (as you 
have truly said) is of no common race. I will 
not be a charge to you, or eat the bread of 
[ 8 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

idleness ; for I am more skillful in weaving and 
embroidery than all the maidens of my land.” 

And she was going on ; but Dictys stopped 
her, and raised her up, and said, "My daughter,. 
I am old, and my hairs are growing gray; while 
I have no children to make my home cheerful. 
Come with me, then, and you shall be a daughter 
to me and to my wife, and this babe shall be 
our grandchild. For I fear the Gods, and show 
hospitality to all strangers ; knowing that good 
deeds, like evil ones, always return to those who 
do them.” 

So Danae was comforted, and went home with 
Dictys the good fisherman, and was a daughter 
to him and to his wife, till fifteen years were 
past. 


[ 9 ] 


PART II 

HOW PERSEUS VOWED A RASH VOW 


Tr^IFTEEN years were past and gone, and 
H the babe was now grown to be a tall lad 
and a sailor, and went many voyages after 
merchandise to the islands round. His mother 
called him Perseus: but all the people in Seri- 
phos said that he was not the son of mortal 
man, and called him the son of Zeus, the king 
of the Immortals. For though he was but fif- 
teen, he was taller by a head than any man in 
the island; and he was the most skillful of all in 
running and wrestling and boxing, and in throw- 
ing the quoit and the javelin, and in rowing 
with the oar, and in playing on the harp, and 
in all which befits a man. And he was brave 
and truthful, gentle and courteous, for good old 
Dictys had trained him well ; and well it was 
for Perseus that he had done so. For now 
Danae and her son fell into great danger, and 
[IQ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

Perseus had need of all his wit to defend his 
mother and himself. 

I said that Dictys’ brother was Polydectes, 
king of the island. He was not a righteous 
man, like Dictys: but greedy, and cunning, and 
cruel. And when he saw fair Danae, he wanted 
to marry her. But she would not ; for she did 
not love him, and cared for no one but her boy, 
and her boy’s father, whom she never hoped to 
see again. At last Polydectes became furious; 
and while Perseus was away at sea, he took 
poor Danae away from Dictys, saying, " If you 
will not be my wife, you shall be my slave.” 
So Danae was made a slave, and had to fetch 
water from the well, and grind in the mill, and 
perhaps was beaten, and wore a heavy chain, 
because she would not marry that cruel king. 
But Perseus was far away over the seas in the 
isle of Samos, little thinking how his mother 
was languishing in grief. 

Now, one day at Samos, while the ship was 
lading, Perseus wandered into a pleasant wood 
to get out of the sun, and sat down on the 
turf, and fell asleep. And as he slept, a strange 
dream came to him; the strangest dream which 
he had ever had in his life. 

[”] 


THE HEROES 


There came a lady to him through the wood, 
taller than he, or any mortal man: but beauti- 
ful exceedingly, with great gray eyes, clear and 
piercing, but strangely soft and mild. On her 
head was a helmet, and in her hand a spear. 
And over her shoulder, above her long blue 
robes, hung a goatskin, which bore up a mighty 
shield of brass, polished like a mirror. She stood 
and looked at him with her clear gray eyes ; and 
Perseus saw that her eyelids never moved, nor 
her eyeballs, but looked straight through and 
through him, and into his very heart, as if she 
could see all the secrets of his soul, and knew 
all that he had ever thought or longed for since 
the day that he was born. And Perseus dropped 
his eyes, trembling and blushing, as the wonder- 
ful lady spoke. 

" Perseus, you must do an errand for me.” 

" Who are you, lady ? and how do you know 
my name ? ” 

" I am Pallas Athene ; and I know the thoughts 
of all men’s hearts, and discern their manhood 
or their baseness. And from the souls of clay I 
turn away; and they are blest, but not by me. 
They fatten at ease, like sheep in the pasture, 
and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in 
[ 12 ] 



— Qtfi 0 CusAin^ 


«• • 




THE HEROES 


the stall. They grow and spread, like the gourd 
along the ground : but like the gourd, they 
give no shade to the traveler; and when they 
are ripe death gathers them, and they go down 
unloved into hell, and their name vanishes out 
of the land. 

" But to the souls of fire I give more fire, 
and to those who are manful I give a might 
more than man’s. These are the heroes, the 
sons of the Immortals, who are blest, but not 
like the souls of clay. For I drive them forth 
by strange paths, Perseus, that they may fight 
the Titans and the monsters, the enemies of 
Gods and men. Through doubt and need, dan- 
ger and battle, I drive them ; and some of them 
are slain in the flower of youth, no man knows 
when or where ; and some of them win noble 
names, and a fair and green old age: but what 
will be their latter end I know not, and none, 
save Zeus, the father of Gods and men. Tell 
me now, Perseus, which of these two sorts of 
men seem to you more blest ? ” 

Then Perseus answered boldly: " Better to 
die in the flower of youth, on the chance of 
winning a noble name, than to live at ease like 
the sheep, and die unloved and unrenowned.” 

[ 14 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


Then that strange lady laughed, and held up 
her brazen shield, and cried " See here, Per- 
seus ; dare you face such a monster as this, 
and slay it, that I may place its head upon this 
shield ? ” 

'And in the mirror of the shield there ap- 
peared a face, and as Perseus looked on it his 
blood ran cold. It was the face of a beautiful 
woman; but her cheeks were pale as death, and 
her brows were knit with everlasting pain, and 
her lips were thin and bitter like a snake’s; 
and instead of hair, vipers wreathed about her 
temples, and shot out their forked tongues ; 
while round her head were folded wings like an 
eagle’s, and upon her bosom claws of brass. 

And Perseus looked awhile, and then said: 
" If there is anything so fierce and foul on 
earth, it were a noble deed to kill it. Where 
can I find the monster ? ” 

Then the strange lady smiled again, and said : 
"Not yet; you are too young, and too unskilled; 
for this is Medusa the Gorgon, the mother of 
a monstrous brood. Return to your home, and 
do the work which waits there for you. You 
must play the man in that before I can think 
you worthy to go in search of the Gorgon.” 

1*5.3 


THE HEROES 


Then Perseus would have spoken, but the 
strange lady vanished, and he awoke; and be- 
hold, it was a dream. But day and night Perseus 
saw before him the face of that dreadful woman, 
with the vipers writhing round her head. 

So he returned home ; and when he came to 
Seriphos, the first thing which he heard was that 
his mother was a slave in the house of Polydectes. 

Grinding his teeth with rage, he went out, 
and away to the king’s palace, and through the 
men’s rooms and the women’s rooms, and so 
through all the house (for no one dared to stop 
him, so terrible and fair was he), till he found 
his mother sitting on the floor turning the stone 
handmill, and weeping as she turned it. And he 
lifted her up, and kissed her, and bade her fol- 
low him forth. But before they could pass out 
of the room, Polydectes came in, raging. And 
when Perseus saw him, he flew upon him as the 
mastiff flies on the boar. " Villain and tyrant ! ” 
he cried ; " is this your respect for the Gods, and 
thy mercy to strangers and widows? You shall 
die ! ” And because he had no sword he caught 
up the stone handmill, and he lifted it to dash 
out Polydectes’ brains. 

But his mother clung to him, shrieking, " Oh, 

[ 16 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


my son, we are strangers and helpless in the 
land ; and if you kill the king, all the people will 
fall on us, and we shall both die.” 

Good Dictys, too, who had come in, entreated 
him. " Remember that he is my brother. Re- 
member how I have brought you up, and trained 
you as my own son, and spare him for my sake.” 

Then Perseus lowered his hand ; and Poly- 
dectes, who had been trembling all this while 
like a coward, because he knew that he was in 
the wrong, let Perseus and his mother pass. 

Perseus took his mother to the temple of 
Athene, and there the priestess made her one 
of the temple sweepers; for there they knew she 
would be safe, and not even Polydectes would 
dare to drag her away from the altar. And there 
Perseus, and the good Dictys, and his wife, came 
to visit her every day ; while Polydectes, not being 
able to get what he wanted by force, cast about in 
his wicked heart how he might get it by cunning. 

Now, he was sure that he could never get back 
Danae as long as Perseus was in the island ; so 
he made a plot to rid himself of him. And first 
he pretended to have forgiven Perseus, and to 
have forgotten Danae ; so that, for a while, all 
went as smoothly as ever. 

[ 17 ] 


THE HEROES 


Next he proclaimed a great feast, and invited 
to it all the chiefs, and landowners, and the young 
men of the island, and among them Perseus, that 
they might all do him homage as their king, and 
eat of his banquet in his hall. 

On the appointed day they all came; and, as 
the custom was then, each guest brought his 
present with him to the king : one a horse, 
another a shawl, or a ring, or a sword ; and 
those who had nothing better brought a basket 
of grapes, or of game ; but Perseus brought 
nothing, for he had nothing to bring, being but 
a poor sailor lad. 

He was ashamed, however, to go into the king’s 
presence without his gift; and he was too proud 
to ask Dictys to lend him one. So he stood at 
the door sorrowfully, watching the rich men go 
in; and his face grew very red as they pointed 
at him, and smiled, and whispered, " What has 
that foundling to give ? ” 

Now, this was what Polydectes wanted; and 
as soon as he heard that Perseus stood without, 
he bade them bring him in, and asked him scorn- 
fully before them all, “Am I not your king, Per- 
seus, and have I not invited you to my feast? 
Where is your present, then ? ” 

[18] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

Perseus blushed and stammered, while all the 
proud men round laughed, and some of them be- 
gan jeering him openly. " This fellow was thrown 
ashore here like a piece of weed or driftwood, and 
yet he is too proud to bring a gift to the king.” 

"And though he does not know who his father 
is, he is vain enough to let the old women call 
him the son of Zeus.” 

And so forth, till poor Perseus grew mad with 
shame, and hardly knowing what he said, cried 
out, "A present! who are you who talk of pres- 
ents? See if I do not bring a nobler one than 
all of yours together ! ” 

So he said, boasting: and yet he felt in his 
heart that he was braver than all those scoffers, 
and more able to do some glorious deed. 

"Hear him! Hear the boaster! What is it to 
be ? ” cried they all, laughing louder than ever. 

Then his dream at Samos came into his mind, 
and he cried aloud, " The head of the Gorgon.” 

He was half afraid after he had said the words; 
for all laughed louder than ever, and Polydectes 
loudest of all. 

"You have promised to bring me the Gorgon’s 
head? Then never appear again in this island 
without it. Go ! ” 


[ 19 ] 


THE HEROES 


Perseus ground his teeth with rage, for he saw 
that he had fallen into a trap : but his promise 
lay upon him, and he went out without a word. 

Down to the cliffs he went, and looked across 
the broad blue sea ; and he wondered if his 
dream were true, and prayed in the bitterness 
of his soul. 

" Pallas Athene, was my dream true ? and 
shall I slay the Gorgon? If thou didst really 
show me her face, let me not come to shame as 
a liar and boastful. Rashly and angrily I prom- 
ised : but cunningly and patiently will I perform.” 

But there was no answer, nor sign; neither 
thunder or any appearance ; not even a cloud 
in the sky. 

And three times Perseus called weeping, 
" Rashly and angrily I promised : but cunningly 
and patiently will I perform.” 

Then he saw afar off above the sea a small white 
cloud, as bright as silver. And it came on, nearer 
and nearer, till its brightness dazzled his eyes. 

Perseus wondered at that strange cloud, for 
there was no other cloud all round the sky; and 
he trembled as it touched the cliff below. And 
as it touched, it broke, and parted, and within it 
appeared Pallas Athene, as he had seen her at 
[20] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

Samos in his dream, and beside her a young 
man more light-limbed than the stag, whose eyes 
were like sparks of fire. By his side was a scim- 
itar of diamond, all of one clear precious stone, 
and on his feet were golden sandals, from the 
heels of which grew living wings. 

They looked upon Perseus keenly, and yet 
they never moved their eyes ; and they came up 
the cliffs towards him more swiftly than the sea 
gull, and yet they never moved their feet, nor 
did the breeze stir the robes about their limbs; 
only the wings of the youth’s sandals quivered, 
like a hawk’s when he hangs above the cliff. And 
Perseus fell down and worshiped, for he knew 
that they were more than man. 

But Athene stood before him and spoke gently, 
and bid him have no fear. Then, " Perseus,” she 
said, " he who overcomes in one trial merits 
thereby a sharper trial still. You have braved 
Polydectes, and done manfully. Dare you brave 
Medusa the Gorgon ? ” 

And Perseus said, "Try me; for since you 
spoke to me in Samos, a new soul has come 
into my breast, and I should be ashamed not to 
dare anything which I can do. Show me, then, 
how I can do this.” 


[ 21 ] 


THE HEROES 


" Perseus,” said Athene, " think well before you 
attempt ; for this deed requires a seven years’ 
journey, in which you cannot repent or turn back, 
nor escape ; but if your heart fails you, you must 
die in the Unshapen Land, where no man will 
ever find your bones.” 

" Better so than live here, useless and despised,” 
said Perseus. " Tell me, then, oh tell me, fair 
and wise Goddess, of your great kindness and 
condescension, how I can do but this one thing, 
and then, if need be, die ! ” 

Then Athene smiled and said, " Be patient, 
and listen; for if you forget my words, you will 
indeed die. You must go northward to the, coun- 
try of the Hyperboreans, who live beyond the 
pole, at the sources of the cold north wind; till 
you find the three Gray Sisters, who have but 
one eye and one tooth between them. You must 
ask them the way to the Nymphs, the daughters 
of the Evening Star, who dance about the golden 
tree, in the Atlantic island of the west. They will 
tell you the way to the Gorgon, that you may slay 
her, my enemy, the mother of monstrous beasts. 
Once she was a maiden as beautiful as morn, till 
in her pride she sinned a sin at which the sun 
hid his face ; and from that day her hair was 
[22] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

turned to vipers, and her hands to eagle’s claws; 
and her heart was filled with shame and rage, 
and her lips with bitter venom ; and her eyes 
became so terrible that whosoever looks on them 
is turned to stone ; and her children are the 
winged horse, and the giant of the golden sword ; 
and her grandchildren are Echidna the witch 
adder, and Geryon the three-headed tyrant, who 
feeds his herds beside the herds of hell. So 
she became the sister of the Gorgons, Stheno 
and Euryale the abhorred, the daughters of 
the Queen of the Sea. Touch them not, for 
they are immortal : but bring me only Medusa’s 
head.” 

"And I will bring it!” said Perseus; "but how 
am I to escape her eyes? Will she not freeze 
me too into stone ? ” 

"You shall take this polished shield,” said 
Athene ; " and when you come near her, look not 
at her herself, but at her image in the brass ; so 
you may strike her safely. And when you have 
struck off her head, wrap it, with your face turned 
away, in the folds of the goatskin on which the 
shield hangs, the hide of Amalthea, the nurse of 
the Aigis-holder. So you will bring it safely back 
to me, and win to yourself renown and a place 

[23] 


THE HEROES 


among the heroes who feast with the Immortals 
upon the peak where no winds blow.” 

Then Perseus said, " I will go, though I die 
in going. But how shall I cross the seas with- 
out a ship ? And who will show me my way ? 
And when I find her, how shall I slay her, if 
her scales be iron and brass ? ” 

Then the young man spoke: " These sandals 
of mine will bear you across the seas, and over 
hill and dale like a bird, as they bear me all day 
long ; for I am Hermes, the far-famed Argus- 
slayer, the messenger of the Immortals who dwell 
on Olympus.” 

Then Perseus fell down and worshiped, while 
the young man spoke again. 

" The sandals themselves will guide you on 
the road, for they are divine and cannot stray; 
and this sword itself, the Argus-slayer, will kill 
her, for it is divine, and needs no second stroke. 
Arise^ and gird them on, and go forth.” 

So Perseus arose, and girded on the sandals 
and the sword. 

And Athene cried, " Now, leap from the cliff, 
and be gone.” 

But Perseus lingered. 

" May I not bid farewell to my mother and 

[24] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

to Dictys? And may I not offer burnt offerings 
to you,, and to Hermes, the far-famed Argus- 
slayer, and ^ J r Zeus above?” 

" Y ou shill not bid farewell to your mother, 
lest your heart relent at her weeping. I will 
comfort her and Dictys until you return in peace. 
Nor shall you offer burnt offerings to the Olym- 
pians ; for your offering shall be Medusa’s head. 
Leap, and trust in the armor of the Immortals.” 

Then Perseus looked down the cliff and shud- 
dered ; but he was ashamed to show his dread. 
Then he thought of Medusa and the renown 
before him, and he leaped into the empty air. 

And behold, instead of falling he floated, and 
stood, and ran along the sky. He looked back, 
but Athene had vanished, and Hermes ; and the 
sandals led him on northward ever, like a crane 
who follows the spring toward the Ister fens. 


[ 25 ] 


PART III 

HOW PERSEUS SLEW THE GORGON 


3 PERSEUS started on his journey, going 



dry-shod over land and sea; and his heart 


was high and joyful, for the winged sandals 
bore him each day a seven days’ journey. 

And he went by Cythnus, and by Ceos, and the 
pleasant Cyclades to Attica; and past Athens, 
and Thebes, and the Copaic lake, and up the 
vale of Cephissus, and past the peaks of CEta 
and Pindus, and over the rich Thessalian plains, 
till the sunny hills of Greece were behind him, 
and before him were the wilds of the north. 
Then he passed the Thracian mountains, and 
many a barbarous tribe, Paeons and Dardans 
and Triballi, till he came to the Ister stream, 
and the dreary Scythian plains. And he walked 
across the Ister dry-shod, and away through the 
moors and fens, day and night toward the bleak 
northwest, turning neither to the right hand nor 


[2 6] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

the left, till he came to the Unshapen Land, and 
the place which has no name. 

And seven days he walked through it, on a 
path which few can tell ; for those who have 
trodden it , like least to speak of it, and those 
who go there again in dreams are glad enough 
when they awake ; till he came to the edge of 
the everlasting night, where the air was full of 
feathers, and the soil was hard with ice ; and 
there he found the three Gray Sisters, by the 
shore of the freezing sea, nodding upon a white 
log of driftwood, beneath the cold white winter 
moon ; and they chanted a low song together, 
" Why the old times were better than the new.” 

There was no living thing around them; not 
a fly, not a moss upon the rocks. Neither seal 
nor sea gull dare come near, lest the ice should 
clutch them in its claws. The surge broke up 
in foam, but it fell again in flakes of snow; and 
it frosted the hair of the three Gray Sisters, and 
the bones in the ice cliff above their heads. They 
passed the eye from one to the other, but for all 
that they could not see ; and they passed the 
tooth from one to the other, but for all that they 
could not eat; and they sat in the full glare of 
the moon, but they were none the warmer for 

[27] 


THE HEROES 


her beams. And Perseus pitied the three Gray 
Sisters; but they did not pity themselves. 

So he said, " Oh, venerable mothers, wisdom 
is the daughter of old age. You therefore should 
know many things. Tell me, if you can, the 
path to the Gorgon.” 

Then one cried, "Who is this who reproaches 
us with old age ? ” And another, " This is the 
voice of one of the children of men.” 

And he, " I do not reproach, but honor your 
old age, and I am one of the sons of men and 
of the heroes. The rulers of Olympus have sent 
me to you to ask the way to the Gorgon.” 

Then one, " There are new rulers in Olym- 
pus, and all new things are bad.” And another, 
"We hate your rulers, and the heroes, and all 
the children of men. We are the kindred of the 
Titans, and the Giants, and the Gorgons, and 
the ancient monsters of the deep.” And an- 
other, " Who is this rash and insolent man, who 
pushes unbidden into our world ? ” And the first, 
" There never was such a world as ours, nor will 
be ; if we let him see it, he will spoil it all.” 

Then one cried, " Give me the eye, that I may 
see him ” ; and another, " Give me the tooth, that 
I may bite him.” 


[28] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


But Perseus, when he saw that they were foolish 
and proud, and did not love the children of men, 
left off pitying them, and said to himself, " Hun- 
gry men must needs be hasty; if I stay making 
many words here, I shall be starved.” Then he 
stepped close to them, and watched till they 
passed the eye from hand to hand. And as they 
groped about between themselves, he held out his 
own hand gently, till one of them put the eye into 
it, fancying that it was the hand of her sister. 
Then he sprang back, and laughed, and cried, 
" Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye ; 
and I will throw it into the sea, unless you tell 
me the path to the Gorgon, and swear to me 
that you tell me right.” 

Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded ; 
but in vain. They were forced to tell the truth, 
though, when they told it, Perseus could hardly 
make out the road. 

" You must go,” they said, " foolish boy, to the 
southward, into the ugly glare of the sun, till you 
come to Atlas the Giant, who holds the heaven 
and the earth apart. And you must ask his 
daughters, the Hesperides, who are young and 
foolish like yourself. And now give us back our 
eye; for we have forgotten all the rest.” 

[29] 


THE HEROES 


So Perseus gave them back their eye: but 
instead of using it, they nodded, and fell fast 
asleep, and were turned into blocks of ice, till 
the tide came up and washed them all away. And 
now they float up and down like icebergs forever, 
weeping whenever they meet the sunshine, and 
the fruitful summer, and the warm south wind, 
which fill young hearts with joy. 

But Perseus leaped away to the southward, 
leaving the snow and the ice behind ; past the 
isle of the Hyperboreans, and the tin isles, and 
the long Iberian shore ; while the sun rose higher 
day by day upon a bright blue summer sea. And 
the terns and the sea gulls swept laughing round 
his head, and called to him to stop and play, and 
the dolphins gamboled up as he passed, and offered 
to carry him on their backs. And all night long 
the sea nymphs sang sweetly, and the Tritons 
blew upon their conchs, as they played round 
Galatea their queen, in her car of pearled shells. 
Day by day the sun rose higher, and leaped more 
swiftly into the sea at night, and more swiftly out 
of the sea at dawn ; while Perseus skimmed over 
the billows like a sea gull, and his feet were never 
wetted; and leapt on from wave to wave, and 
his limbs were never weary, till he saw far away 
[ 30 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

a mighty mountain, all rose-red in the setting sun. 
Its feet were wrapped in forests, and its head in 
wreaths of cloud; and Perseus knew that it was 
Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth apart. 

He came to the mountain, and leapt on shore, 
and wandered upward, among pleasant valleys and 
waterfalls, and tall trees and strange ferns and 
flowers : but there was no smoke rising from any 
glen, nor house, nor sign of man. 

At last he heard sweet voices singing ; and he 
guessed that he was come to the garden of the 
Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening Star. 

They sang like nightingales among the thickets, 
and Perseus stopped to hear their song: but the 
words which they spoke he could not understand; 
no, nor no- man after him for many a hundred 
years. So he stepped forward and saw them 
dancing, hand in hand around the charmed tree, 
which bent under its golden fruit ; and round the 
tree-foot was coiled the dragon, old Ladon the 
sleepless snake, who lies there forever, listening 
to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching 
with dry bright eyes. 

Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared 
the dragon, but because he was bashful before 
those fair maids: but when they saw him, they 
[3i] 


THE HEROES 


too stopped, and called to him with trembling 
voices, M Who are you? Are you Heracles the 
mighty, who will come to rob our garden, and 
carry off our golden fruit ? ” 

And he answered, " I am not Heracles the 
mighty, and I want none of your golden fruit. 
Tell me, fair Nymphs, the way which leads to the 
Gorgon, that I may go on my way and slay her.” 

" Not yet, not yet, fair boy ; come dance with us 
around the tree, in the garden which knows no 
winter, the home of the south wind and the sun. 
Come hither and play with us awhile ; we have 
danced alone here for a thousand years, and our 
hearts are weary with longing for a playfellow. 
So come, come, come ! ” 

" I cannot dance with you, fair maidens, for I 
must do the errand of the Immortals. So tell me 
the way to the Gorgon, lest I wander and perish 
in the waves.” 

Then they sighed, and wept, and answered, 
" The Gorgon ! she will freeze you into stone.” 

" It is better to die like a hero than to live like 
an ox in a stall. The Immortals have lent me 
weapons, and they will give me wit to use them.” 

Then they sighed again, and answered, " Fair 
boy, if you are bent on your own ruin, be it so. 
[32] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

We know not the way to the Gorgon: but we 
will ask the giant Atlas, above upon the mountain 
peak, the brother of our father, the silver Evening 
Star. He sits aloft and sees across the ocean, and 
far away into the Unshapen Land.” 

So they went up the mountain to Atlas their 
uncle, and Perseus went up with them. And they 
found the giant kneeling, as he held the heavens 
and the earth apart. 

They asked him, and he answered mildly, point- 
ing to the seaboard with his mighty hand, " I can 
see the Gorgons lying on an island far away, but 
this youth can never come near them, unless he 
has the hat of darkness, which whosoever wears 
cannot be seen.” 

Then cried Perseus, " Where is that hat, that I 
may find it ? ” 

But the giant smiled. " No living mortal can 
find that hat, for it lies in the depths of Hades, 
in the regions of the dead. But my nieces are 
immortal, and they shall fetch it for you, if you 
will promise me one thing and keep your faith.” 

Then Perseus promised ; and the giant said, 
" When you come back with the head of Medusa, 
you shall show me the beautiful horror; that I 
may lose my feeling and my breathing, and 
[ 33 ] 


THE HEROES 


become a stone forever; for it is weary labor for 
me to hold the heavens and the earth apart.” 

Then Perseus promised, and the eldest of the 
Nymphs went down, and into a dark cavern 
among the cliffs, out of which came smoke and 
thunder, for it was one of the mouths of Hell. 

And Perseus and the Nymphs sat down seven 
days, and waited trembling, till the Nymph came 
up again ; and her face was pale, and her eyes 
dazzled with the light, for she had been long in 
the dreary darkness ; but in her hand was the 
magic hat. 

Then all the Nymphs kissed Perseus, and wept 
over him a long while : but he was only impa- 
tient to be gone. And at last they put the hat 
upon his head, and he vanished out of their sight. 

But Perseus went on boldly, past many an 
ugly sight, far away into the heart of the Un- 
shapen Land, beyond the streams of Ocean, to 
the isles where no ship cruises, where is neither 
night nor day, where nothing is in its right 
place, and nothing has a name ; till he heard 
the rustle of the Gorgons’ wings, and saw the 
glitter of their brazen talons ; and then he knew 
that it was time to halt, lest Medusa should 
freeze him into stone. 


[ 34 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

He thought awhile with himself, and remem- 
bered Athene’s words. He rose aloft into the 
air, and held the mirror of the shield above his 
head, and looked up into it that he might see 
all that was below him. 

And he saw the three Gorgons sleeping, as 
huge as elephants. He knew that they could 
not see him, because the hat of darkness hid 
him ; and yet he trembled as he sank down near 
them, so terrible were those brazen claws. 

Two of the Gorgons were foul as swine, and 
lay sleeping heavily, as sw T ine sleep, with their 
mighty wings outspread : but Medusa tossed to 
and fro restlessly, and as she tossed, P'erseus 
pitied her, she looked so fair and sad. Her 
plumage was like the rainbow, and her face was 
like the face of a nymph, only her eyebrows 
were knit, and her lips clenched, with everlast- 
ing care and pain ; and her long neck gleamed 
so white in the mirror that Perseus had not the 
heart to strike, and said, "Ah, that it had been 
either of her sisters ! ” 

But as he looked, from among her tresses the 
vipers’ heads awoke, and peeped up with their 
bright dry eyes, and showed their fangs, and 
hissed ; and Medusa, as she tossed, threw back 
[35 ] 


THE HEROES 


her wings, and showed her brazen claws ; and 
Perseus saw that, for all her beauty, she was as 
foul and venomous as the. rest. 

Then he came down and stepped to her boldly, 
and looked steadfastly on his mirror, and struck 
with Herpe stoutly once ; and he did not need 
to strike again. 

Then he wrapped the head in the goatskin, 
turning away his eyes, and sprang into the air 
aloft, faster than he ever sprang before. For 
Medusa’s wings and talons rattled as she sank 
dead upon the rocks ; and her two foul sisters 
woke, and saw her lying dead. 

Into the air they sprang yelling, and looked 
for him who had done the deed. Thrice they 
swung round and round, like hawks who beat 
for a partridge ; and thrice they snuffed round 
and round, like hounds who draw upon a deer. 
At last they struck upon the scent of the blood, 
and they checked for a moment to make sure; 
and then on they rushed with a fearful howl, 
while the wind rattled hoarse in their wings. 

On they rushed, sweeping and flapping, like 
eagles after a hare ; and Perseus’ blood ran cold, 
for all his courage, as he saw them come howl- 
ing on his track ; and he cried, " Bear me well, 
[ 36 ] 




THE HEROES 


now, brave sandals, for the hounds of Death are 
at my heels ! ” 

And well the brave sandals bore him, aloft 
through cloud and sunshine, across the shoreless 
sea: and fast followed the hounds of Death, as 
the roar of their wings came down the wind. 
But the roar came down fainter and fainter, and 
the howl of their voices died away; for the san- 
dals were too swift, even for Gorgons, and by 
nightfall they were far behind, two black specks 
in the southern sky, till the sun sank and he 
saw them no more. 

Then he came again to Atlas, and the gar- 
den of the Nymphs; and when the giant heard 
him coming, he groaned, and said, " Fulfill thy 
promise to me.” Then Perseus held up to him 
the Gorgon’s head, and he had rest from all his 
toil;. for he became a crag of stone, which sleeps 
forever far above the clouds. 

Then he thanked the Nymphs, and asked 
them, “ By what road shall I go homeward again, 
for I wandered far round in coming hither ? ” 

And they wept and cried, " Go home no more, 
but stay and play with us, the lonely maidens, 
who dwell forever far away from Gods and men.” 

But he refused, and they told him his road, 
[ 38 ] 


THE STORY OF BERSEUS 


and said, "Take with you this magic fruit, which 
if you eat once, you will not hunger for seven 
days. For you must go eastward and eastward 
ever, over the doleful Libyan shore, which Posei- 
don gave to Father Zeus, when he burst open the 
Bosporus and the Hellespont, and drowned the 
fair Lectonian land. And Zeus took that land in 
exchange, a fair bargain, much bad ground for 
a little good, and to this day it lies waste and 
desert, with shingle, and rock, and sand.” 

Then they kissed Perseus, and wept over him, 
and he leapt down the mountain, and went on, 
lessening and lessening like a sea gull, away and 
out to sea. 


[ 39 ] 



PART IV 


HOW PERSEUS CAME TO THE ^ETHIOPS 
3 PERSEUS flitted onward to the north- 



east, over many a league of sea, till he 


came to the rolling sand hills, and the 
dreary Libyan shore. 

And he flitted on across the desert, over rock 
ledges, and banks of shingle, and level wastes of 
sand, and shell drifts bleaching in the sunshine, 
and the skeletons of great sea monsters, and 
the dead bones of ancient giants, strewn up 
and down upon the old sea floor. And as he 
went, the blooddrops fell to the earth from the 
Gorgon’s head, and became poisonous asps and 
adders, which breed in the desert to this day. 

Over the sands he went, he never knew how 
far or how long, feeding on the fruit which the 
Nymphs had given him, till he saw the hills 
of the Psylli, and the Dwarfs who fought with 
cranes. Their spears were of reeds and rushes, 


[ 40 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


and their houses of the eggshells of the cranes; 
and Perseus laughed, and went his way to the 
northeast, hoping all day long to see the blue 
Mediterranean sparkling, that he might fly across 
it to his home. 

But now came down a mighty wind, and swept 
him back southward toward the desert. All day 
long he strove against it; but even the winged 
sandals could not prevail. So he was forced to 
float down the wind all night; and when the 
morning dawned there was nothing to be seen, 
save the same old hateful waste of sand. 

And out of the north the sandstorms rushed 
upon him, blood-red pillars and wreaths, blotting 
out the noonday sun ; and Perseus fled before 
them, lest he should be choked by the burn- 
ing dust. At last the gale fell calm, and he 
tried to go northward again ; but again came 
down the sandstorms, and swept him back into 
the waste, and then all was calm and cloudless 
as before. Seven days he strove against the 
storms, and seven days he was driven back, till 
he was spent with thirst and hunger, and his 
tongue clove to the roof of his mouth. Here 
and there he fancied that he saw a fair lake, 
and the sunbeams shining on the water; but 
[4i ] 


THE HEROES 


when he came to it it vanished at his feet, and 
there was nought but burning sand. And if he 
had not been of the race of the Immortals, he 
would have perished in the waste ; but his life 
was strong within him, because it was more 
than man’s. 

Then he cried to Athene, and said, " Oh, fair 
and pure, if thou hearest me, wilt thou leave 
me here to die of drought ? I have brought 
thee the Gorgon’s head at thy bidding, and 
hitherto thou hast prospered my journey; dost 
thou desert me at the last ? Else why will not 
these immortal sandals prevail, even against the 
desert storms ? Shall I never . see my mother 
more, and the blue ripple round Seriphos, and 
the sunny hills of Hellas?” 

So he prayed ; and after he had prayed there 
was a great silence. 

The heaven was still above his head, and the 
sand was still beneath his feet ; and Perseus 
looked up, but there was nothing but the blind- 
ing sun in the blinding blue; and round him, 
but there was nothing but the blinding sand. 

And Perseus stood still a while, and waited, 
and said, " Surely I am not here without the 
will of the Immortals, for Athene will not lie. 

[ 42 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


Were not these sandals to lead me in the right 
road ? Then the road in which I have tried to 
go must be a wrong road.” 

Then suddenly his ears were opened, and he 
heard the sound of running water. 

And at that his heart was lifted up, though 
he scarcely dare believe his ears ; and weary as 
he was, he hurried forward, though he could 
scarcely stand upright; and within a bowshot of 
him was a glen in the sand, and marble rocks, 
and date trees, and a lawn of gay green grass. 
And through the lawn a streamlet sparkled and 
wandered out beyond the trees, and vanished in 
the sand. 

The water trickled among the rocks, and a 
pleasant breeze rustled in the dry date branches ; 
and Perseus laughed for joy, and leapt down the 
cliff, and drank of the cool water, and ate of the 
dates, and slept upon the turf, and leapt up and 
went forward again : but not toward the north 
this time ; for he said, " Surely Athene has sent 
me hither, and will not have me go homeward 
yet. What if there be another noble deed to be 
done, before I see the sunny hills of Hellas?” 

So he went east, and east forever, by fresh 
oases, and fountains, date palms, and lawns of 
[ 43 ] 


THE HEROES 


grass, till he saw before him a mighty mountain 
wall, all rose-red in the setting sun. 

Then he towered in the air like an eagle, for 
his limbs were strong again ; and he flew all 
night across the mountain till the day began 
to dawn, and rosy-fingered Eos came blushing 
up the sky. And then, behold, beneath him 
was the long green garden of Egypt, and the 
shining stream of Nile. 

And he saw cities walled up to heaven, and 
temples, and obelisks, and pyramids, and giant 
Gods of stone. And he came down amid fields 
of barley, and flax, and millet, and clambering 
gourds; and saw the people coming out of the 
gates of a great city, and setting to work, each 
in his place, among the watercourses, parting the 
streams among the plants cunningly with their 
feet, according to the wisdom of the Egyptians. 

But when they saw him they all stopped their 
work, and gathered round him, and cried, " Who 
art thou, fair youth, and what bearest thou be- 
neath thy goatskin there ? Surely thou art one 
of the Immortals; for thy skin is white like 
ivory, and ours is red like clay. Thy hair is like 
threads of gold, and ours is black and curled. 
Surely thou art one of the Immortals”; and they 
[ 44 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

would have worshiped him then and there : but 
Perseus said, "I am not one of the Immortals; 
but I am a hero of the Hellens. And I have 
slain the Gorgon in the wilderness, and bear 
her head with me. Give me food, therefore, 
that I may go forward and finish my work.” 

Then they gave him food, and fruit, and wine ; 
but they would not let him go. And when the 
news came into the city that the Gorgon was 
slain, the priests came out to meet him, and the 
maidens, with songs and dances, and timbrels 
and harps ; and they would have brought him 
to their temple and to their king; but Perseus 
put on the hat of darkness, and vanished away 
out of their sight. 

Therefore the Egyptians looked long for his 
return, but in vain, and worshiped him as a 
hero, and made a statue of him in Chemmis, 
which stood for many a hundred years ; and 
they said that he appeared to them at times, 
with sandals a cubit long; and that whenever 
he appeared the season was fruitful, and the 
Nile rose high that year. 

Then Perseus went to the eastward, along 
the Red Sea shore; and then, because he was 
afraid to go into the Arabian deserts, he turned 
[ 45 ] 


THE HEROES 


northward once more, and this time no storm 
hindered him. 

He went past the Isthmus, and Mount Casius, 
and the vast Serbonian bog, and up the shore of 
Palestine, where the dark-faced Hithiops dwelt. 

He flew on past pleasant hills and valleys, like 
Argos itself, or Lacedaemon, or the fair Vale of 
Tempe. But the lowlands were all drowned by 
floods, and the highlands blasted by fire, and the 
hills heaved like a bubbling cauldron, before the 
wrath of King Poseidon, the shaker of the earth. 

And Perseus feared to go inland, but flew along 
the shore above the sea; and he went on all the 
day, and the sky was black with smoke ; and he 
went on all the night, and the sky was red with 
flame. 

And at the dawn of day he looked toward the 
cliffs; and at the water’s edge, under a black 
rock, he saw a white image stand. 

" This,” thought he, " must surely be the statue 
of some sea God ; I will go near and see what 
kinds of Gods these barbarians worship.” 

So he came near; but when he came, it was 
no statue, but a maiden of flesh and blood; for 
he could see her tresses streaming in the breeze, 
and as he came closer still, he could see how she 
[ 46 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


shrank and shivered when the waves sprinkled 
her with cold salt spray. Her arms were spread 
above her head, and fastened to the rock with 
chains of brass ; and her head drooped on her 
bosom, either with sleep, or weariness, or grief. 
But now and then she looked up and wailed, and 
called her mother; yet she did not see Perseus, 
for the cap of darkness was on his head. 

Full of pity and indignation, Perseus drew near 
and looked upon the maid. Her cheeks were 
darker than his were, and her hair was blue-black 
like a hyacinth : but Perseus thought, " I have 
never seen so beautiful a maiden ; no, not in all 
our Isles. Surely she is a king’s daughter. Do 
barbarians treat their kings’ daughters thus ? She 
is too fair, at least, to have done any wrong. I 
will speak to her.” 

And lifting the hat from his head, he flashed 
into her sight. She shrieked with terror, and 
tried to hide her face with her hair, for she could 
not with her hands ; but Perseus cried, " Do not 
fear me, fair one; I am a Hellen, and no bar- 
barian. What cruel men have bound you ? But 
first I will set you free.” 

And he tore at the fetters; but they were too 
strong for him; while the maiden cried, "Touch 
[ 47 ] 


THE HEROES 


me not; I am accursed, devoted as a victim to 
the sea Gods. They will slay you, if you dare to 
set me free.” 

" Let them try,” said Perseus ; and drawing 
Herpe from his thigh, he cut through the brass 
as if it had been flax. 

"Now,” he said, "you belong to me, and not 
to these sea Gods, whosoever they may be ! ” 
But she only called the more on her mother. 

" Why call on your mother ? She can be 
no mother to have left you here. If a bird is 
dropped out of the nest, it belongs to the man 
who picks it up. If a jewel is cast by the way- 
side, it is his who dare win it and wear it, as 
I will win you and will wear you. I know now 
why Pallas Athene sent me hither. She sent me 
to gain a prize worth all my toil and more.” 

And he clasped her in his arms, and cried, 
" Where are these sea Gods, cruel and unjust, 
who doom fair maids to death ? I carry the 
weapons of Immortals. Let them measure their 
strength against mine ! But tell me, maiden, who 
you are, and what dark fate brought you here.” 

And she answered, weeping, " I am the daugh- 
ter of Cepheus, King of Iopa, and my mother 
is Cassiopeia of the beautiful tresses, and they 
[ 48 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


called me Andromeda, as long as life was mine. 
And I stand bound here, hapless that I am, for 
the sea monster’s food, to atone for my mother’s 
sin. For she boasted of me once that I was 
fairer than Atargatis, Queen of the Fishes; so 
she in her wrath sent the sea floods, and her 
brother the Fire King sent the earthquakes, and 
wasted all the land; and after the floods a monster 
bred of the slime, who devours all living things. 
And now he must devour me, guiltless though I 
am — me who never harmed a living thing, nor 
saw a fish upon the shore but I gave it life, and 
threw it back into the sea; for in our land we 
eat no fish, for fear of Atargatis their queen. 
Yet the priests say that nothing but my blood 
can atone for a sin which I never committed.” 

But Perseus laughed, and said, " A sea mon- 
ster? I have fought with worse than him: I 
would have faced Immortals for your sake; how 
much more a beast of the sea ? ” 

Then Andromeda looked up at him, and new 
hope was kindled in her breast, so proud and 
fair did he stand, with one hand round her, and 
in the other the glittering sword. But she only 
sighed, and wept the more, and cried, " Why will 
you die, young as you are ? Is there not death 
[ 49 ] 


THE HEROES 


and sorrow enough in the. world already? It is 
noble for me to die, that I may save the lives 
of a whole people; but you, better than them 
all, why should I slay you too? Go you your 
way; I must go mine.” 

But Perseus cried, " Not so; for the Lords of 
Olympus, whom I serve, are the friends of the 
heroes, and help them on to noble deeds. Led 
by them, I slew the Gorgon, the beautiful horror ; 
and not without them do I come hither, to slay 
this monster with that same Gorgon’s head. Yet 
hide your eyes' when I leave you, lest the sight 
of it freeze you too to stone.” 

But the maiden answered nothing, for she 
could not believe his words. And then, suddenly 
looking up, she pointed to the sea, and shrieked, 
" There he comes, with the sunrise, as they prom- 
ised. I must die now. How shall I endure it? 
Oh, go ! Is it not dreadful enough to be torn 
piecemeal, without having you to look on ? ” And 
she tried to thrust him away. 

But \ie said, " I go : yet promise me one thing 
ere I go, that if I slay this beast you will be my 
wife, and come back with me to my kingdom in 
fruitful Argos, for I am a king’s heir. Promise 
me, and seal it with a kiss.” 

[ 50 ] 





THE HEROES 


Then she lifted up her face, and kissed him ; 
and Perseus laughed for joy, and flew upward, 
while Andromeda crouched trembling on the 
rock, waiting for what might befall. 

On came the great sea monster, coasting along 
like a huge black galley, lazily breasting the rip- 
ple, and stopping at times by creek or headland, 
to watch for the laughter of girls at their bleach- 
ing, or cattle pawing on the sand hills, or boys 
bathing on the beach. His great sides were 
fringed with clustering shells and seaweeds, and 
the water gurgled in and out of his wide jaws, as 
he rolled along, dripping and glistening in the 
beams of the morning sun. 

At last he saw Andromeda, and shot forward 
to take his prey, while the waves foamed white 
behind him, and before him fish fled leaping. 

Then down from the height of the air fell Per- 
seus, like a shooting star; down to the crest of 
the waves, while Andromeda hid her face as he 
shouted ; and then there was silence for a while. 

At last she looked up trembling, and saw Per- 
seus springing toward her; and instead of the 
monster a long black rock, with the sea rippling 
quietly round it. 

Who then so proud as Perseus, as he leapt 
[ 52 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

back to the rock, and lifted his fair Andromeda 
in his arms, and flew with her to the cliff top, as 
a falcon carries a dove? 

Who so proud as Perseus, and who so joyful as 
all the yEthiop people ? For they had stood watch- 
ing the monster from the cliffs, wailing for the 
maiden’s fate. And already a messenger had gone 
to Cepheus and Cassiopeia, where they sat in sack- 
cloth and ashes on the ground, in the innermost 
palace chambers, awaiting their daughter’s end. 
And they came, and all the city with them, to 
see the wonder, with songs and with dances, with 
cymbals and harps, and received their daughter 
back again, as one alive from the dead. 

Then Cepheus said, " Hero of the Hellens, stay 
here with me and be my son-in-law, and I will 
give you the half of my kingdom.” 

" I will be your son-in-law,” said Perseus, " but 
of your kingdom I will have none ; for I long after 
the pleasant land of Greece, and my mother who 
waits for me at home.” 

Then Cepheus said, "You must not take my 
daughter away at once, for she is to us like one 
alive from the dead. Stay with us here a year, and 
after that you shall return with honor.” And Per- 
seus consented ; but before he went to the palace, 
[ 53 ] 


THE HEROES 


he bade the people bring stones and wood, and 
built three altars, one to Athene, and one to 
Hermes, and one to Father Zeus, and offered 
bullocks and rams. 

And some said, " This is a pious man ” : yet the 
priests said, "The Sea Queen will be yet more 
fierce against us, because her monster is slain.” 
But they were afraid to speak aloud, for they 
feared the Gorgon’s head. So they went up to 
the palace : and when they came in, there stood 
in the hall Phineus, the brother of Cepheus, chaf- 
ing like a bear robbed of her whelps, and with 
him his sons, and his servants, and many an 
armed man ; and he cried to Cepheus, " You shall 
not marry your daughter to this stranger, of whom 
no one knows even the name. Was not Androm- 
eda betrothed to my son? And now she is safe 
again, has he not a right to claim her ? ” 

But Perseus laughed, and answered, " If your 
son is in want of a bride, let him save a maiden 
for himself. As yet he seems but a helpless bride- 
groom. He left this one to die, and dead she is 
to him. I saved her alive, and alive she is to .me, 
but to no one else. U ngrateful man ! have I not 
saved your land, and the lives of your sons and 
daughters, and will you requite me thus ? Go, or 
[ 54 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

it will be worse for you.” But all the men-at-arms 
drew their swords, and rushed on him like wild 
beasts. 

Then he unveiled the Gorgon’s head, and said, 
" This has delivered my bride from one wild beast ; 
it shall deliver her from many.” And as he spoke, 
Phineus and all his men-at-arms stopped short, 
and stiffened each man as he stood ; and before 
Perseus had drawn the goatskin over the face 
again, they were all turned into stone. 

Then Perseus bade the people bring levers 
and roll them out ; and what was done with them 
after that, I cannot tell. 

So they made a great wedding feast, which 
lasted seven whole days, and who so happy as 
Perseus and Andromeda? 

But on the eighth night Perseus dreamed a 
dream ; and he saw standing beside him Pallas 
Athene, as he had seen her in Seriphos, seven 
long years before; and she stood and called him 
by name, and said, w Perseus, you have played the 
man, and see, you have your reward. Know now 
that the Gods are just, and help him who helps 
himself. Now give me here Herpe the sword, and 
the sandals, and the hat of darkness, that I may 
give them back to their owners ; but the Gorgon’s 
[ 55 ] 


THE HEROES 


head you shall keep a while, for you will need it 
in your land of Greece. Then you shall lay it up 
in my temple at Seriphos, that I may wear it 
on my shield forever, a terror to the Titans and 
the monsters, and the foes of Gods and men. And 
as for this land, I have appeased the sea and the 
fire, and there shall be no more floods nor earth- 
quakes. But let the people build altars to Father 
Zeus and to me, and worship the Immortals, the 
Lords of heaven and earth.” 

And Perseus rose to give her the sword, and 
the cap, and the sandals : but he woke, and his 
dream vanished away. And yet it was not alto- 
gether a dream ; for the goatskin with the head 
was in its place : but the sword, and the cap, and 
the sandals were gone, and Perseus never saw 
them more. 

Then a great awe fell on Perseus ; and he went 
out in the morning to the people, and told his 
dream, and bade them build altars to Zeus the 
Father of Gods and men, and to Athene who 
gives wisdom to heroes; and fear no more the 
earthquakes and the floods, but sow and build in 
peace. And they did so for a while, and prospered : 
but after Perseus was gone, they forgot Zeus and 
Athene, and worshiped again Atargatis the queen, 
[ 56 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


and the undying fish of the sacred lake, where 
Deucalion’s deluge was swallowed up, and they 
burnt their children before the Fire King, till 
Zeus was angry with that foolish people, and 
brought a strange nation against them out of 
Egypt, who fought against them and wasted 
them utterly, and dwelt in their cities for many 
a hundred years. 


[ 57 ] 


PART V 


HOW PERSEUS CAME HOME AGAIN 



,ND when a year was ended, Perseus hired 
Phoenicians from Tyre, and cut down 
cedars, and built himself a noble gal- 
ley; and painted its cheeks with vermilion, and 
pitched its sides with pitch ; and in it he put 
Andromeda, and all her dowry of jewels, and 
rich shawls, and spices from the East ; and great 
was the weeping when they rowed away. But 
the remembrance of his brave deed was left 
behind ; and Andromeda’s rock was shown at 
Iopa, in Palestine, till more than a thousand 
years were past. 

So Perseus and the Phoenicians rowed to the 
westward, across the sea of Crete, till they came 
to the blue Aegean and the pleasant Isles of 
Hellas, and Seriphos, his ancient home. 

Then he left his galley on the beach, and went 
[ 58 ] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

up as of old; and he embraced his mother, and 
Dictys his good foster father, and they wept over 
each other a long while, for it was seven years 
and more since they had met. 

Then Perseus went out, and up to the hall 
of Polydectes ; and underneath the goatskin he 
bore the Gorgon’s head. 

And when he came into the hall, Polydectes 
sat at the table head, and all his nobles and 
landowners on either side, each according to his 
rank, feasting on the fish and the goat’s flesh, and 
drinking the blood-red wine. The harpers harped, 
and the revelers shouted, and the wine cups rang 
merrily as they passed from hand to hand, and 
great was the noise in the hall of Polydectes. 

Then Perseus stood upon the threshold, and 
called to the king by name. But none of the 
guests knew Perseus, for he was changed by his 
long journey. He had gone out a boy, and he 
was come home a hero; his eye shone like an 
eagle’s, and his beard was like a lion’s beard, and 
he stood up like a wild bull in his pride. 

But Polydectes the wicked knew him, and 
hardened his heart still more; and scornfully he 
called, "Ah, foundling! Have you found it more 
easy to promise than to fulfill ? ” 

[ 59 ] 


THE HEROES 


" Those whom the Gods help fulfill their 
promises; and those who despise them, reap as 
they have sown. Behold the Gorgon’s head ! ” 

Then Perseus drew back the goatskin, and 
held aloft the Gorgon’s head. 

Pale grew Polydectes and his guests, as they 
looked upon that dreadful face. They tried to 
rise up from their seats : but from their seats 
they never rose, but stiffened, each man where 
he sat, into a ring of cold gray stones. 

Then Perseus turned and left them, and went 
down to his galley in the bay; and he gave the 
kingdom to good Dictys, and sailed away with 
his mother and his bride. 

And Polydectes and his guests sat still, with 
the wine cups before them on the board ; till the 
rafters crumbled down above their heads, and the 
walls behind their backs, and the table crumbled 
down between them, and the grass sprung up 
about their feet: but Polydectes and his guests 
sit on the hillside, a ring of gray stones until 
this day. 

But Perseus rowed westward toward Argos, 
and landed, and went up to the town. And 
when he came, he found that Acrisius his grand- 
father had fled. For Proetus his wicked brother 
[60] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 


had made war against him afresh ; and had 
come across the river from Tiryns, and con- 
quered Argos, and Acrisius had fled to Larissa, 
in the country of the wild Pelasgi. 

Then Perseus called the Argives together, and 
told them who he was, and all the noble deeds 
which he had done. And all the nobles and the 
yeomen made him king, for they saw that he 
had a royal heart ; and they fought with him 
against Argos, and took it, and killed Prcetus, 
and made the Cyclopes serve them, and build 
them walls round Argos, like the walls which 
they had built at Tiryns; and there were great 
rejoicings in the vale of Argos, because they had 
got a king from Father Zeus. 

But Perseus’ heart yearned after his grand- 
father, and he said, " Surely he is my flesh and 
blood ; and he will love me now that I am come 
home with honor : I will go and find him, and 
bring him home, and we will reign together in 
peace.” 

So Perseus sailed away with his Phoenicians, 
round Hydrea and Sunium, past Marathon and 
the Attic shore, and through Euripus, and up 
the long Euboean sea, till he came to the town 
of Larissa, where the wild Pelasgi dwelt. 

[ 61 ] 


THE HEROES 


And when he came there, all the people were 
in the fields, and there was feasting, and all 
kinds of games; for Teutamenes their king 
wished to honor Acrisius, because he was the 
king of a mighty land. 

So Perseus did not tell his name, but went up 
to the games unknown ; for he said, “If I carry 
away the prize in the games, my grandfather’s 
heart will be softened toward me.” 

So he threw off his helmet, and his cuirass, and 
all his clothes, and stood among the youths of La- 
rissa, while all wondered at him, and said, “ Who 
is this young stranger, who stands like a wild bull 
in his pride ? Surely he is one of the heroes, the 
sons of the Immortals, from Olympus.” 

And when the games began, they wondered 
yet more ; for Perseus was the best man of 
all, at running, and leaping, and wrestling, and 
throwing the javelin ; and he won four crowns, 
and took them, and then he said to himself, 
“ There is a fifth crown yet to be won ; I will 
win that, and lay them all upon the knees of 
my grandfather.” 

And as he spoke, he saw where Acrisius sat, 
by the side of Teutamenes the king, with his 
white beard flowing down upon his knees, and his 
[62] 


THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

royal staff in his hand ; and Perseus wept when 
he looked at him, for his heart yearned after his 
kin ; and he said, " Surely he is a kingly old man, 
yet he need not be ashamed of his grandson.” 

Then he took the quoits, and hurled them, 
five fathoms beyond all the rest; and the people 
shouted, u Further yet, brave stranger ! There 
has never been such a hurler in this land.” 

Then Perseus put out all his strength, and 
hurled. But a gust of wind came from the sea, 
and carried the quoit aside, and far beyond all 
the rest; and it fell on the foot of Acrisius, and 
he swooned away with the pain. 

Perseus shrieked, and ran up to him : but 
when they lifted the old man up, he was dead; 
for his life was slow and feeble. 

Then Perseus rent his clothes, and cast dust 
upon his head, and wept a long while for his 
grandfather. At last he rose, and called to all 
the people aloud, and said, "The Gods are true, 
and what they have ordained must be. I am 
Perseus, the grandson .of this dead man, the 
far-famed slayer of the Gorgon.” 

Then he told them how the prophecy had de- 
clared that he should kill his grandfather, and 
all the story of his life. 

[ 63 ] 


THE HEROES 


So they made a great mourning for Acrisius, 
and burnt him on a right rich pile ; and Per- 
seus went to the temple, and was purified from 
the guilt of the death, because he had done it 
unknowingly. 

Then he went home to Argos, and reigned 
there well with fair Andromeda; and they had 
four sons and three daughters, and died in a 
good old age. 

And when they died, the ancients say, Athene 
took them up into the sky, with Cepheus and 
Cassiopeia. And there on starlight nights you 
may see them shining still ; Cepheus with his 
kingly crown, and Cassiopeia in her ivory chair, 
plaiting her star-spangled tresses, and Perseus 
with the Gorgon’s head, and fair Andromeda 
beside him, spreading her long white arms across 
the heaven, as she stood when chained to the 
stone for the monster. All night long they shine, 
for a beacon to wandering sailors : but all day 
they feast with the Gods, on the still blue peaks 
of Olympus. 


[ 64 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


PART I 

HOW THE CENTAUR TRAINED THE HEROES 
ON PELION 

TT HAVE told you of a hero who fought with 
wild beasts and with wild men; but now I 
J_L have a tale of heroes who sailed away into 
a distant land, to win themselves renown for- 
ever, in the adventure of the Golden Fleece. 

Whither they sailed, my children, I cannot 
clearly tell. It all happened long ago; so long 
that it has all grown dim, like a dream which 
you dreamt last year. And why they went, I 
cannot tell: some say that it was to win gold. 
It may be so: but the noblest deeds which have 
been done on earth have not been done for 
gold. It was not for the sake of gold that the 
Lord came down and died, and the Apostles 
[ 65 ] 


THE HEROES 


went out to preach the good news in all lands. 
The Spartans looked for no reward in money 
when they fought and died at Thermopylae ; and 
Socrates the wise asked no pay from his country- 
men, but lived poor and barefoot all his days, 
only caring to make men good. And there are 
heroes in our days also, who do noble deeds, 
but not for gold. Our discoverers did not go 
to make themselves rich, when they sailed out 
one after another into the dreary frozen seas ; 
nor did the ladies who went out last year to 
drudge in the hospitals of the East, making 
themselves poor that they might be rich in 
noble works. And young men, too, whom you 
know, children, and some of them of your own 
kin, did they say to themselves, " How much 
money shall I earn ? ” whefa. they went out to 
the war, leaving wealth, and comfort, and a pleas- 
ant home, <md all that money can give, to face 
hunger and thirst, and wounds and death, that 
they might fight for their country and their 
Queen? No, children, there is a better thing on 
earth than wealth, a better thing than life itself; 
and that is, to have done something before you 
die, for which good men may honor you, and God 
your Father smile upon your work. 

[ 66 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Therefore we will believe — why should we 
not? — of these same Argonauts of old, that 
they too were noble men, who planned and 
did a noble deed; and that therefore their fame 
has lived, and been told in story and in song, 
mixed up, no doubt, with dreams and fables, 
and yet true and right at heart. So we will 
honor these old Argonauts, and listen to their 
story as it stands; and we will try to be like 
them, each of us in our place; for each of us 
has a Golden Fleece to seek, and a wild sea to 
sail over ere we reach it, and dragons to fight 
ere it be ours. 

And what was that first Golden Fleece? I do 
not know, nor care. The old Hellens said that 
it hung in Colchis, what we call the Circassian 
coast, nailed to a beech tree in the War-god’s 
wood; and that it was the fleece of the won- 
drous ram who bore Phrixus and Helle across 
the Euxine sea. For Phrixus and Helle were 
the children of the cloud-nymph, and of Atha- 
mas the Minyan king. And when a famine 
came upon the land, their cruel stepmother Ino 
wished to kill them, that her own children might 
reign, and said that they must be sacrificed on 
[ 67 ] 


THE HEROES 


an altar, to turn away the anger of the Gods. 
So the poor children were brought to the altar, 
and the priest stood ready with his knife, when 
out of the clouds came the Golden Ram, and 
took them on his back, and vanished. Then 
madness came upon that foolish king Athamas, 
and ruin upon I no and her children. For Atha- 
mas killed one of them in his fury, and I no 
fled from him with the other in her arms, and 
leaped from a cliff into the sea, and was changed 
into a dolphin, such as you have seen, which 
wanders over the waves forever sighing, with 
its little one clasped to its breast 

But the people drove out King Athamas, be- 
cause he had killed his child ; and he roamed 
about in his misery, till he came to the Oracle, 
in Delphi. And the Oracle told him that he 
must wander for his sin, till the wild beasts 
should feast him as their guest. So he went on 
in hunger and sorrow for many a weary day, till 
he saw a pack of wolves. The wolves were tear- 
ing a sheep: but when they saw Athamas they 
fled, and left the sheep for him, and he ate of it ; 
and then he knew that the oracle was fulfilled 
at last. So he wandered no more ; but settled, 
and built a town, and became a king again. 

[ 68 ] 





THE HEROES 


But the ram carried the two children far away 
over land and sea, till he came to the Thracian 
Chersonese, and there Helle fell into the sea. 
So those narrow straits are called " Hellespont,” 
after her ; and they bear that name until this day. 

Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the 
northeast across the sea which we call the Black 
Sea now; but the Hellens called it Euxine. And 
at last, they say, he stopped at Colchis, on the 
steep Circassian coast; and there Phrixus married 
Chalciope, the daughter of /Fetes the king; and 
offered the ram in sacrifice: and Aietes nailed 
the ram’s fleece to a beech, in the grove of Ares 
the War-god. 

And after a while Phrixus died, and was 
buried, but his spirit had no rest ; for he was 
buried far from his native land, and the pleas- 
ant hills of Hellas. So he came in dreams to 
the heroes of the Minyae, and called sadly by 
their beds, "Come and set my spirit free, that 
I may go home to my fathers and to my kins- 
folk, and the pleasant Minyan land.” 

And they asked, " How shall we set your 
spirit free ? ” 

"You must sail over the sea to Colchis, and 
bring home the Golden Fleece; and then my 
[ 70 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

spirit will come back with it, and I shall sleep 
with my fathers and have rest.” 

He came thus, and called to them often: but 
when they woke they looked at each other, and 
said, " Who dare sail to Colchis, or bring home 
the Golden Fleece ? ” And in all the country 
none was brave enough to try it ; for the man 
and the time were not come. 

Phrixus had a cousin called /Eson, who was 
king in Iolcos by the sea. There he ruled over 
the rich Minyan heroes, as Athamas his uncle 
ruled in Boeotia; and like Athamas, he was an 
unhappy man. For he had a stepbrother named 
Pelias, of whom some said that he was a nymph’s 
son, and there were dark and sad tales about his 
birth. When he was a babe he was cast out on 
the mountains, and a wild mare came by and kicked 
him. But a shepherd passing found the baby, with 
its face all blackened by the blow; and took him 
home, and called him Pelias, because his face was 
bruised and black. And he grew up fierce and 
lawless, and did many a fearful deed ; and at last 
he drove out Aison his stepbrother, and then his 
own brother Neleus, and took the kingdom to 
himself, and ruled over the rich Minyan heroes, 
in Iolcos by the sea. 

[7i] 


THE HEROES 


And Aison, when he was driven out, went sadly 
away out of the town, leading his little son by the 
hand ; and he said to himself, " I must hide the 
child in the mountains; or Pelias will surely kill 
him, because he is the heir.” 

So he went up from the sea across the val- 
ley, through the vineyards and the olive groves, 
and across the torrent of Anauros, toward Pelion 
the ancient mountain, whose brows are white 
with snow. 

He went up and up into the mountain, over 
marsh and crag, and down, till the boy was tired 
and footsore, and yEson had to bear him in his 
arms, till he came to the mouth of a lonely cave, 
at the foot of a mighty cliff. 

Above the cliff the snow wreaths hung, dripping 
and cracking in the sun : but at its foot, around 
the cave’s mouth, grew all fair flowers and herbs, 
as if in a garden, ranged in order, each sort by 
itself. There they grew gayly in the sunshine, 
and the spray of the torrent from above ; while 
from the cave came the sound of music, and a 
man’s voice singing to the harp. 

Then Aison put down the lad, and whispered, 
" Fear not, but go in, and whomsoever you shall 
find, lay your hands upon his knees, and say, ' In 
[ 72 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

the name of Zeus the Father of Gods and men, 
I am your guest from this day forth.’ ” 

Then the lad went in without trembling, for 
he too was a hero’s son : but when he was 
within, he stopped in wonder, to listen to that 
magic song. 

And there he saw the singer lying, upon bear- 
skins and fragrant boughs : Chiron, the ancient 
Centaur, the wisest of all things beneath the sky. 
Down to the waist he was a man ; but below he 
was a noble horse; his white hair rolled down 
over his broad shoulders, and his white beard over 
his broad brown chest; and his eyes were wise 
and mild, and his forehead like a mountain wall. 

And in his hands he held a harp of gold, and 
struck it with a golden key; and as he struck, 
he sang till his eyes glittered, and filled all the 
cave with light. 

And he sang of the birth of Time, and of the 
heavens and the dancing stars ; and of the ocean, 
and the ether, and the fire, and the shaping of the 
wondrous earth. And he sang of the treasures of 
the hills, and the hidden jewels of the mine, and 
the veins of fire and metal, and the virtues of all 
healing herbs, and of the speech of birds, and of 
prophecy, and of hidden things to come. 

[ 73 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then he sang of health, and strength, and man- 
hood, and a valiant heart ; and of music, and hunt- 
ing, and wrestling, and all the games which heroes 
love; and of travel, and wars, and sieges, and a 
noble death in fight; and then he sang of peace 
and plenty, and of equal justice in the land : and 
as he sang, the boy listened wide-eyed, and for- 
got his errand in the song. 

And at last old Chiron was silent, and called 
the lad with a soft voice. 

And the lad ran trembling to him, and would 
have laid his hands upon his knees: but Chiron 
smiled, and said, " Call hither your father y£son, 
for I know you, and all that has befallen, and saw 
you both afar in the valley, even before you left 
the town.” 

Then JE son came in sadly, and Chiron asked 
him, " Why came you not yourself to me, ZEson, 
the ZEolid ? ” 

And ZEson said, " I thought, Chiron will pity 
the lad if he sees him come alone; and I wished 
to try whether he was fearless, and dare venture 
like a hero’s son. But now I entreat you by 
Father Zeus, let the boy be your guest till better 
times, and train him among the sons of the heroes, 
that he may avenge his father’s house.” 

[ 74 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Then Chiron smiled, and drew the lad to him, 
and laid his hand upon his golden locks, and said, 
" Are you afraid of my horse’s hoofs, fair boy, or 
will you be my pupil from this day ? ” 

" I would gladly have horse’s hoofs like you, if 
I could sing such songs as yours.” 

And Chiron laughed, and said, " Sit here by me 
till sundown, when your playfellows will come 
home, and you shall learn like them to be a king, 
worthy to rule over gallant men.” 

Then he turned to A£son, and said, " Go back 
in peace, and bend before the storm like a pru- 
dent man. This boy shall not cross the Anauros 
again, till he has become a glory to you and to 
the house of AloIus.” 

And Alson wept over his son and went 
away: but the boy did not weep, so full was his 
fancy of that strange cave, and the Centaur, 
and his song, and the playfellows whom he was 
to see. 

Then Chiron put the lyre into his hands, and 
taught him how to play it, till the sun sank low 
behind the cliff, and a shout was heard outside. 

And then in came the sons of the heroes, 
Ameas, and Heracles, and Peleus, and many 
another mighty name. 

[ 75 ] 


THE HEROES 


And great Chiron leapt up joyfully, and his 
hoofs made the cave resound, as they shouted, 
" Come out, Father Chiron ; come out and see our 
game.” And one cried, " I have killed two deer,” 
and another, M I took a wild cat among the crags ” ; 
and Heracles dragged a wild goat after him by 
its horns, for he was as huge as a mountain crag ; 
and Caeneus carried a bear cub under each arm, 
and laughed when they scratched and bit ; for 
neither tooth nor steel could wound him. 

And Chiron praised them all, each according 
to his deserts. 

Only one walked apart and silent, Asclepius, 
the too-wise child, with his bosom full of herbs 
and flowers, and round his wrist a spotted snake ; 
he came with downcast eyes to Chiron, and 
whispered how he had watched the snake cast his 
old skin, and grow young again before his eyes, 
and how he had gone down into a village in the 
vale, and cured a dying man with an herb which 
he had seen a sick goat eat. 

And Chiron smiled, and said, "To each Athene 
and Apollo give some gift, and each is worthy in 
his place; but to this child they have given an 
honor beyond all honors, to cure while others 
kill.” 


[ 76 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Then the lads brought in wood, and split it, 
and lighted a blazing fire ; and others skinned 
the deer and quartered them, and set them to 
roast before the fire ; and while the venison was 
cooking they bathed in the snow torrent, and 
washed away the dust and sweat. 

And then all ate till they could eat no more 
(for they had tasted nothing since the dawn), and 
drank of the clear spring water, for wine is not 
fit for growing lads. And when the remnants 
were put away, they all lay down upon the skins 
and leaves about the fire, and each took the lyre 
in turn, and sang and played with all his heart. 

And after a while they all went out to a plot 
of grass at the cave’s mouth, and there they boxed, 
and ran, and wrestled, and laughed till the stones 
fell from the cliffs. 

Then Chiron took his lyre, and all the lads 
joined hands; and as he played, they danced to 
his measure, in and out, and round and round. 
There they danced hand in hand, till the night 
fell over land and sea, while the black glen shone 
with their broad white limbs, and the gleam of 
their golden hair. 

And the lad danced with them, delighted, and 
then slept a wholesome sleep, upon fragrant 
[ 77 ] 


THE HEROES 


leaves of bay, and myrtle, and marjoram, and 
flowers of thyme; and rose at the dawn, and 
bathed in the torrent, and became a schoolfellow 
to the heroes’ sons, and forgot Iolcos, and his 
father, and all his former life. But he grew strong, 
and brave and cunning, upon the pleasant downs 
of Pelion, in the keen, hungry, mountain air. And 
he learnt to wrestle, and to box, and to hunt, and 
to play upon the harp ; and next he learnt to ride, 
for old Chiron used to mount him on his back ; 
and he learnt the Virtues of all herbs, and how 
to cure all wounds; and Chiron called him Jason 
the healer, and that is his name until this day. 


[ 7 »] 



PART II 

HOW JASON LOST HIS SANDAL IN ANAUROS 


ND ten years came and went, and Jason 



was grown to be a mighty man. Some 
w of his fellows were gone, and some were 
growing up by his side. Asclepius was gone 
into Peloponnese, to work his wondrous cures 
on men ; and some say he used to raise the 
dead to life. And Heracles was gone to Thebes 
to fulfill those famous labors which have become 
a proverb among men. And Peleus had married 
a sea nymph, and his wedding is famous to this 
day. And Tineas was gone home to Troy, and 
many a noble tale you will read of him, and of 
all the other gallant heroes, the scholars of Chiron 
the just. And it happened on a day that Jason 
stood on the mountain, and looked north and 
south and east and west; and Chiron stood by 
him and watched him, for he knew that the time 


was come. 


[ 79 ] 


THE HEROES 


And Jason looked and saw the plains of Thes- 
saly, where the Lapithas breed their horses; and 
the lake of Beebe, and the stream which runs 
northward to Peneus and Temper and he looked 
north, and saw the mountain wall which guards 
the Magnesian shore; Olympus, the seat of the 
Immortals, and Ossa, and Pelion, where he stood. 
Then he looked east and saw the bright blue sea, 
which stretched away forever toward the dawn. 
Then he looked south, and saw a pleasant land, 
with white-walled towns and farms, nestling along 
the shore of a land-locked bay, while the smoke 
rose blue among the trees; and he knew it for 
the bay of Pagasae, and the rich lowlands of 
Haemonia, and Iolcos by the sea. 

Then he sighed, and asked, " Is it true what 
the heroes tell me, that I am heir of that fair 
land ? ” 

"And what good would it be to you, Jason, if 
you were heir of that fair land ? ” 

" I would take it and keep it.” 

"A strong man has taken it and kept it long. 
Are you stronger than Pelias the terrible ? ” 

"I can try my strength with his,” said Jason: 
but Chiron sighed, and said, "You have many a 
danger to go through before you rule in Iolcos 
[80] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

by the sea: many a danger, and many a woe; 
and strange troubles in strange lands, such as 
man never saw before.” 

"The happier I,” said Jason, "to see what 
man never saw before.” 

And Chiron sighed again, and said, " The eag- 
let must leave the nest when it is fledged. Will 
you go to Iolcos by the sea? Then promise me 
two things before you go.” 

Jason promised, and Chiron answered, " Speak 
harshly to no soul whom you may meet, and stand 
by the word which you shall speak.” 

Jason wondered why Chiron asked this of him : 
but he knew that the Centaur was a prophet, and 
saw things long before they came. So he prom- 
ised, and leapt down the mountain, to take his 
fortune like a man. 

He went down through the arbutus thickets, 
and across the downs of thyme, till he came to 
the vineyard walls, and the pomegranates and 
the olives in the glen ; and among the olives 
roared Anauros, all foaming with a summer flood. 

And on the bank of Anauros sat a woman, 
all wrinkled, gray, and old; her head shook pal- 
sied on her breast, and her hands shook palsied 
on her knees; and when she saw Jason, she 

[8i] 


THE HEROES 


spoke whining, " Who will carry me across the 
flood ? ” 

Jason was bold and hasty, and was just go- 
ing to leap into the flood : and yet he thought 
twice before he leapt, so loud roared the torrent 
down, all brown from the mountain rains, and 
silver-veined with melting snow ; while under- 
neath he could hear the boulders rumbling like 
the tramp of horsemen or the roll of wheels, 
as they ground along the narrow channel, and 
shook the rocks on which he stood. 

But the old woman whined all the more, " I 
am weak and old, fair youth. For Hera’s sake, 
carry me over the torrent.” 

And Jason was going to answer her scorn- 
fully, when Chiron’s words came to his mind. 

So he said, " For Hera’s sake, the Queen of 
the Immortals on Olympus, I will carry you 
over the torrent, unless we both are drowned 
midway.” 

Then the old dame leapt upon his back, as 
nimbly as a goat; and Jason staggered in, won- 
dering; and the first step was up to his knees. 

The first step was up to his knees, and the 
second step was up to his waist ; and the stones 
rolled about his feet, and his feet slipped about 
[82] 



THE HEROES 


the stones; so he went on staggering and pant- 
ing, while the old woman cried from off his 
back, " Fool, you have wet my mantle ! Do you 
make game of poor old souls like me ? ” 

Jason had half a mind to drop her, and let 
her get through the torrent by herself : but 
Chiron’s words were in his mind, and he said 
only, " Patience, mother ; the best horse may 
stumble some day.” 

At last he staggered to the shore, and set 
her down upon the bank ; and a strong man he 
needed to have been, or that wild water he 
never would have crossed. 

He lay panting awhile upon the bank, and 
then leapt up to go upon his journey; but he 
cast one look at the old woman, for he thought, 
" She should thank me once at least.” 

And as he looked, she grew fairer than all 
women, and taller than all men on earth ; and 
her garments shone like the summer sea, and 
her jewels like the stars of heaven ; and over her 
forehead was a veil, woven of the golden clouds 
of sunset ; and through the veil she looked down 
on him with great soft heifer’s eyes; with great 
eyes, mild and awful, which filled all the glen 
with light. 


[ 84 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


And Jason fell upon his knees, and hid his 
face between his hands. 

And she spoke, " I am the Queen of Olympus, 
Hera the wife of Zeus. As thou hast done to me, 
so will I do to thee. Call on me in the hour of 
need, and try if the Immortals can forget.” 

And when Jason looked up, she rose from off 
the earth, like a pillar of tall white cloud, and 
floated away across the mountain peaks, toward 
Olympus the holy hill. 

Then a great fear fell on Jason: but after a 
while he grew light of heart ; and he blessed 
old Chiron, and said, " Surely the Centaur is a 
prophet, and guessed what would come to pass, 
when he bade me speak harshly to no soul 
whom I might meet.” 

Then he went down toward Iolcos, and as he 
walked, he found that he had lost one of his 
sandals in the flood. 

And as he went through the streets, the 
people came out to look at him, so tall and 
fair was he: but some of the elders whispered 
together; and at last one of them stopped Jason, 
and called to him, " Fair lad, who are you, and 
whence come you; and what is your errand in 
the town ? ” 


[ 85 ] 


THE HEROES 


" My name, good father, is Jason, and I come 
from Pelion up above ; and my errand is to Pelias 
your king ; tell me then where his palace is.” 

But the old man started, and grew pale, and 
said, " Do you not know the oracle, my son, 
that you go so boldly through the town with 
but one sandal on ? ” 

" I am a stranger here, and know of no oracle : 
but what of my one sandal ? I lost the other in 
Anauros, while I was struggling with the flood.” 

Then the old man looked back to his com- 
panions ; and one sighed and another smiled ; 
at last he said, " I will tell you, lest you rush 
upon your ruin unawares. The Oracle in Delphi 
has said that a man wearing one sandal should 
take the kingdom from Pelias, and keep it for 
himself. Therefore beware how you go up to his 
palace, for he is the fiercest and most cunning 
of all kings.” 

Then Jason laughed a great laugh, like a war 
horse in his pride, " Good news, good father, 
both for you and me. For that very end I came 
into the town.” 

Then he strode on toward the palace of Pelias, 
while all the people wondered at his bearing. 

And he stood in the doorway and cried, " Come 

[ 86 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

out, come out, Pelias the valiant, and fight for 
your kingdom like a man.” 

Pelias came out, wondering, and " Who are 
you, bold youth ? ” he cried. 

" I am Jason, the son of /Eson, the heir of 
all this land.” 

Then Pelias lifted up his hands and eyes, 
and wept, or seemed to weep; and blessed the 
heavens which had brought his nephew to him, 
never to leave him more. " For,” said he, " I 
have but three daughters, and no son to be my 
heir. You shall be my heir then, and rule the 
kingdom after me, and marry whichsoever of my 
daughters you shall choose; though a sad king- 
dom you will find it, and whosoever rules it a 
miserable man. But come in, come in, and feast.” 

So he drew Jason in, whether he would or 
not, and spoke to him so lovingly and feasted 
him so well that Jason’s anger passed; and after 
supper his three cousins came into the hall, and 
Jason thought that he should like well enough 
to have one of them for his wife. 

But at last he said to Pelias, " Why do you 
look so sad, my uncle ? And what did you mean 
just now, when you said that this was a doleful 
kingdom, and its ruler a miserable man ? ” 

[ 87 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then Pelias sighed heavily again and again 
and again, like a man who had to tell some 
dreadful story, and was afraid to begin : but at 
last, " For seven long years and more have I 
never known a quiet night ; and no more will 
he who comes after me, till the Golden Fleece 
be brought home.” 

Then he told Jason the story of Phrixus, and 
of the Golden Fleece ; and told him, too, which 
was a lie, that Phrixus’ spirit tormented him, call- 
ing to him day and night. And his daughters 
came, and told the same tale (for their father 
had taught them their parts), and wept, and said, 
" Oh who will bring home the Golden Fleece, 
that our uncle’s spirit may have rest; and that 
we may have rest also, whom he never lets sleep 
in peace ? ” 

Jason sat awhile, sad and silent; for he had 
often heard of that Golden Fleece : but he looked 
on it as a thing hopeless and impossible for any 
mortal man to win it. 

But when Pelias saw him silent, he began to 
talk of other things, and courted Jason more 
and more, speaking to him as if he was certain 
to be his heir, and asking his advice about the 
kingdom; till Jason, who was young and simple, 
[ 88 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

could not help saying to himself, " Surely he is 
not the dark man whom people call him. Yet 
why did he drive my father out ? ” And he asked 
Pelias boldly, " Men say that you are terrible, and 
a man of blood : but I find you a kind and hos- 
pitable man ; and as you are to me, so will I be 
to you. Yet why did you drive my father out?” 

Pelias smiled, and sighed : " Men have slan- 
dered me in that, as in all things. Your father 
was growing old and weary, and he gave the 
kingdom up to me of his own will. You shall 
see him to-morrow, and ask him ; and he will 
tell you the same.” 

Jason’s heart leapt in him when he heard that 
he was to see his father; and he believed all that 
Pelias said, forgetting that his father might not 
dare to tell the truth. 

" One thing more there is,” said Pelias, w on 
which I need your advice; for though you are 
young, I see in you a wisdom beyond your years. 
There is one neighbor of mine, whom I dread 
more than all men on earth. I am stronger than 
he now, and can command him : but I know 
that if he stay among us, he will work my ruin 
in the end. Can you give me a plan, Jason, by 
which I can rid myself of that man?” 

[ 89 ] 


THE HEROES 


After a while Jason answered, half laughing, 
"Were I you, I would send him to fetch that 
same Golden Fleece; for if he once set forth 
after it you would never be troubled with him 
more.” 

And at that a bitter smile came across Pelias’ 
lips, and a flash of wicked joy into his eyes ; and 
Jason saw it, and started; and over his mind 
came the warning of the old man, and his own 
one sandal, and the oracle, and he saw that he 
was taken in a trap. 

But Pelias only answered gently, " My son, he 
shall be sent forthwith.” 

"You mean me?” cried Jason, starting up, 
" because I came here with one sandal ? ” And 
he lifted his fist angrily, while Pelias stood up 
to him like a wolf at bay; and whether of the 
two was the stronger and the fiercer it would be 
hard to tell. 

But after a moment Pelias spoke gently, " Why 
then so rash, my son? You, and not I, have said 
what is said ; why blame me for what I have not 
done? Had you bid me love the man of whom 
I spoke, and make him my son-in-law and heir, I 
would have obeyed you ; and what if I obey you 
now, and send the man to win himself immortal 
[ 90 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

fame? I have not harmed you, or him. One 
thing at least I know, that he will go, and that 
gladly : for he has a hero’s heart within him ; 
loving glory, and scorning to break the word 
which he has given.” 

Jason saw that he was entrapped: but his sec- 
ond promise to Chiron came into his mind, and 
he thought, " What if the Centaur were a prophet 
in that also, and meant that I should win the 
Fleece!” Then he cried aloud, " You have well 
spoken, cunning uncle of mine ! I love glory, and 
I dare keep to my word. I will go and fetch this 
Golden Fleece. Promise me but this in return, 
and keep your word as I keep mine. Treat my 
father lovingly while I am gone, for the sake of 
the all-seeing Zeus ; and give me up the kingdom 
for my own, on the day that I bring back the 
Golden Fleece.” 

Then Pelias looked at him and almost loved 
him, in the midst of all his hate ; and said, " I 
promise, and I will perform. It will be no shame 
to give up my kingdom to the man who wins 
that Fleece.” 

Then they swore a great oath between them; 
and afterwards both went in, and lay down to 
sleep. 

[9i ] 


THE HEROES 


But Jason could not sleep for thinking of his 
mighty oath, and how he was to fulfill it, all alone, 
and without wealth or friends. So he tossed a 
long time upon his bed, and thought of this plan 
and of that; and sometimes Phrixus seemed to 
call him, in a thin voice, faint and low, as if it 
came from far across the sea, " Let me come 
home to my fathers and have rest.” And some- 
times he seemed to see the eyes of Hera, and 
to hear her words again, " Call on me in the hour 
of need, and see if the Immortals can forget.” 

And on the morrow he went to Pelias, and 
said, " Give me a victim, that I may sacrifice to 
Hera.” So he went up, and offered his sacrifice; 
and as he stood by the altar, Hera sent a thought 
into his mind; and he went back to Pelias, and 
said, " If you are indeed in earnest, give me two 
heralds, that they may go round to all the princes 
of the Minyae, who were pupils of the Centaur 
with me, that we may fit out a ship together, 
and take what shall befall.” 

At that Pelias praised his wisdom, and has- 
tened to send the heralds out; for he said in his 
heart, " Let all the princes go with him, and like 
him, never return; for so I shall be lord of all 
the Minyae, and the greatest king in Hellas.” 

[ 92 ] 


PART III 

HOW THEY BUILT THE SHIP ARGO IN IOLCOS 

S O THE heralds went out, and cried to all*, 
the heroes of the Minyae, "Who dare come 
to the adventure of the Golden Fleece ? ” 
And Hera stirred the hearts of all the princes, 
and they came from all their valleys to the yellow 
sands of Pagasae. And first came Heracles the 
mighty, with his lion’s skin and club, and be- 
hind him Hylas his young squire, who bore his 
arrows and his bow; and Tiphys, the skillful 
steersman; and Butes, the fairest of all men; 
and Castor and Polydeuces the twins, the sons 
of the magic swan ; and Caeneus, the strongest 
of mortals, whom the Centaurs tried in vain to 
kill, and overwhelmed him with trunks of pine 
trees, but even so he would not die ; and thither 
came Zetes and Calais, the winged sons of the 
North- wind; and Peleus, the father of Achilles, 
whose bride was silver-footed Thetis, the goddess 
[ 93 ] 


THE HEROES 


of the sea. And thither came Telamon and Oileus, 
the fathers of the two Mantes, who fought upon 
the plains of Troy; and Mopsus, the wise sooth- 
sayer, who knew the speech of birds ; and Idmon, 
to whom Phoebus gave a tongue to prophesy of 
things to come; and Ancaeus, who could read 
the stars, and knew all the circles of the heavens ; 
and Argus, the famed shipbuilder, and many a 
hero more, in helmets of brass and gold with tall 
dyed horse-hair crests, and embroidered shirts of 
linen beneath their coats of mail, and greaves of 
polished tin to guard their knees in fight; with 
each man his shield upon his shoulder, of many 
a fold of tough bull’s hide, and his sword of 
tempered bronze in his silver-studded belt, and 
in his right hand a pair of lances of the heavy 
white ash-staves. 

So they came down to Iolcos, and all the 
city came out to meet them, and were never 
tired with looking at their height, and their 
beauty, and their gallant bearing, and the glit- 
ter of their inlaid arms. And some said, “ Never 
was such a gathering of the heroes since the 
Hellens conquered the land.” But the women 
sighed over them, and whispered, " Alas ! they 
are all going to their death.” 

[ 94 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Then they felled the pines on Pelion, and 
shaped them with the ax, and Argus taught 
them to build a galley, the first long ship which 
ever sailed the seas. They pierced her for fifty 
oars, an oar for each hero of the crew, and 
pitched her with coal-black pitch, and painted 
her bows with vermilion ; and they named her 
Argo after Argus, and worked at her all day 
long. And at night Pelias feasted them like a 
king, and they slept in his palace porch. 

But Jason went away to the northward, and 
into the land of Thrace, till he found Orpheus, 
the prince of minstrels, where he dwelt in his 
cave under Rhodope, among the savage Cicon 
tribes. And he asked him, " Will you leave 
your mountains, Orpheus, my fellow scholar in 
old times, and cross Strymon once more with 
me, to sail with the heroes of the Minyae, and 
bring home the Golden Fleece, and charm for 
us all men and all monsters with your magic 
harp and song ? ” 

Then Orpheus sighed, " Have I not had 
enough of toil and of weary wandering far and 
wide, since I lived in Chiron’s cave, above Iol- 
cos by the sea? In vain is the skill and the 
voice which my goddess mother gave me; in 
[95 ] 


THE HEROES 


vain have I sung and labored ; in vain I went 
down to the dead, and charmed all the kings of 
Hades, to win back Eurydice my bride. For I 
won her, my beloved, and lost her again the 
same day, and wandered away in my madness, 
even to Egypt and the Libyan sands, and the 
isles of all the seas, driven on by the terrible 
gadfly, while I charmed in vain the hearts of 
men, and the savage forest beasts, and the trees, 
and the lifeless stones, with my magic harp and 
song, giving rest, but finding none. But at last 
Calliope my mother delivered me, and brought 
me home in peace ; and I dwell here in the 
cave alone, among the savage Cicon tribes, sof- 
tening their wild hearts with music and the 
gentle laws of Zeus. And now I must go out 
again, to the ends of all the earth, far away 
into the misty darkness, to the last wave of the 
Eastern Sea. But what is doomed must be, 
and a friends demand obeyed ; for prayers are 
the daughters of Zeus, and who honors them 
honors him.” 

Then Orpheus rose up sighing, and took his 
harp, and went over Strymon. And he led Jason 
to the southwest, up the banks of Haliacmon 
and over the spurs of Pindus, to Dodona, the 
[ 96 ] 



THE HEROES 


town of Zeus, where it stood by the side of the 
sacred lake, and the fountain which breathed 
out fire, in the darkness of the ancient oak- 
wood, beneath the mountain of the hundred 
springs. And he led him to the holy oak, 
where the black dove settled in old times, and 
was changed into the priestess of Zeus, and 
gave oracles to all nations round. And he 
bade him cut down a bough, and sacrifice to 
Hera and to Zeus; and they took the bough 
and came to Iolcos, and nailed it to the beak- 
head of the ship. 

And at last the ship was finished, and they 
tried to launch her down the beach ; but she 
was too heavy for them to move her, and her 
keel sank deep into the sand. Then all the 
heroes looked at each other blushing; but Jason 
spoke, and said, " Let us ask the magic bough ; 
perhaps it can help us in our need.’* 

Then a voice came from the bough, and Jason 
heard the words it said, and bade Orpheus play 
upon the harp, while the heroes waited round, 
holding the pine-trunk rollers, to help her toward 
the sea. 

Then Orpheus took his harp, and began his 
magic song: " How sweet it is to ride upon 
[ 98 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

the surges, and to leap from wave to wave, 
while the wind sings cheerful in the cordage, 
and the oars flash fast among the foam ! How 
sweet it is to roam across the ocean, and see 
new towns and wondrous lands, and to come 
home laden with treasure, and to win undying; 
fame ! ” 

And the good ship Argo heard him, and 
longed to be away and out at sea ; till she 
stirred in every timber, and heaved from stem 
to stern, and leapt up from the sand upon the 
rollers, and plunged onward like a gallant horse ; 
and the heroes fed her path with pine-trunks, 
till she rushed into the whispering sea. 

Then they stored her well with food and water, 
and pulled the ladder up on board, and settled 
themselves each man to his oar, and kept time 
to Orpheus’ harp ; and away across the bay they 
rowed southward, while the people lined the cliffs ; 
and the women wept while the men shouted, at 
the starting of that gallant crew. 


[ 99 ] 


PART IV 


HOW THE ARGONAUTS SAILED TO COLCHIS 



A 


ND what happened next, my children, 
whether it be true or not, stands writ- 
ten in ancient songs, which you shall 
read for yourselves some day. And grand old 
songs they are, written in grand old rolling 
verse ; and they call them the Songs of Orpheus, 
or the Orphics, to this day. And they tell how 
the heroes came to Aphetae, across the bay, 
and waited for the southwest wind, and chose 
themselves a captain from their crew: and how 
all called for Heracles, because he was the 
strongest and most huge; but Heracles refused, 
and called for Jason, because he was the wisest 
of them all. So Jason was chosen captain; and 
Orpheus heaped a pile of wood, and slew a 
bull, and offered it to Hera, and called all the 
heroes to stand round, each man’s head crowned 

[ IQ o ] 



THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


with olive, and to strike their swords into the 
bull. Then he filled a golden goblet with the 
bull’s blood, and with wheaten flour, and honey, 
and wine, and the bitter salt sea- water, and bade 
the heroes taste. So each tasted the goblet, and 
passed it round, and vowed an awful vow: and 
they vowed before the sun, and the night, and the 
blue-haired sea who shakes the land, to stand by 
Jason faithfully, in the adventure of the Golden 
Fleece; and whosoever shrank back, or disobeyed, 
or turned traitor to his vow, then justice should 
witness against him, and the Erinyes who track 
guilty men. 

Then Jason lighted the pile, and burnt the 
carcass of the bull ; and they went to their 
ship and sailed eastward, like men who have a 
work to do ; and the place from which they 
went was called Aphetae, the sailing place, from 
that day forth. Three thousand years and more 
they sailed away, into the unknown Eastern 
seas; and great nations have come and gone 
since then, and many a storm has swept the 
earth; and many a mighty armament, to which 
Argo would be but one small boat, English 
and French, Turkish and Russian, have sailed 
those waters since; yet the fame of that small 
[ ioi ] 


THE HEROES 


Argo lives forever, and her name is become a 
proverb among men. 

So they sailed past the Isle of Sciathos, with 
the Cape of Sepias on their left, and turned to 
the northward toward Pelion, up the long Mag- 
nesian shore. On their right hand was the open 
sea, and on their left old Pelion rose, while the 
clouds crawled round his dark pine forests, and 
his caps of summer snow. And their hearts 
yearned for the dear old mountain, as they 
thought of the pleasant days gone by, and of 
the sports of their boyhood, and their hunting, 
and their schooling in the cave beneath the cliff. 

And at last Peleus spoke, " Let us land here, 
friends, and climb the dear old hill once more. 
We are going on a fearful journey: who knows 
if we shall see Pelion again ? Let us go up to 
Chiron our master, and ask his blessing ere we 
start. And I have a boy, too, with him, whom 
he trains as he trained me once, the son whom 
Thetis brought me, the silver-footed lady of the 
sea, whom I caught in the cave, and tamed her, 
though she changed her shape seven times. For 
she changed, as I held her, into water, and to 
vapour, and to burning flame, and to a rock, 
and to a black-maned lion, and to a tall and 
[ 102 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

stately tree. But I held her and held her ever, 
till she took her own shape again, and led her 
to my father’s house, and won her for my bride. 
And all the rulers of Olympus came to our wed- 
ding, and the heavens and the earth rejoiced to- 
gether, when an Immortal wedded mortal man. 
And now let me see my son; for it is not often 
I shall see him upon earth: famous he will be, 
but short-lived, and die in the flower of youth.” 

So Tiphys the helmsman steered them to the 
shore under the crags of Pelion ; and they went 
up through the dark pine forests toward the 
Centaur’s cave. 

And they came into the misty hall, beneath the 
snow-crowned crag; and saw the great Centaur 
lying, with his huge limbs spread upon the rock; 
and beside him stood Achilles, the child whom no 
steel could wound, and played upon his harp right 
sweetly, while Chiron watched and smiled. 

Then Chiron leapt up and welcomed them, 
and kissed them every one, and set a feast be- 
fore them, of swine’s flesh, and venison, and good 
wine; and young Achilles served them, and car- 
ried the golden goblet round. And after supper 
all the heroes clapped their hands, and called 
on Orpheus to sing: but he refused, and said, 

[103] 


THE HEROES 


" How can I, who am the younger, sing before 
our ancient host ? ” So they called on Chiron to 
sing, and Achilles brought him his harp ; and he 
began a wondrous song; a famous story of old 
time, of the fight between Centaurs and the Lapi- 
thae, which you may still see carved in stone. He 
sang how his brothers came to ruin by their folly, 
when they were mad with wine ; and how they 
and the heroes fought, with fists, and teeth, and 
the goblets from which they drank; and how 
they tore up the pine trees in their fury, and 
hurled great crags of stone, while the mountains 
thundered with the battle, and the land was 
wasted far and wide ; till the Lapithae drove 
them from their home in the rich Thessalian 
plains to the lonely glens of Pindus, leaving 
Chiron all alone. And the heroes praised his 
song right heartily ; for some of them had helped 
in that great fight. 

Then Orpheus took the lyre, and sang of 
Chaos, and the making of the wondrous World, 
and how all things sprang from Love, who could 
not live alone in the Abyss. And as he sang, his 
voice rose from the cave, above the crags, and 
through the tree-tops, and the glens of oak and 
pine. And the trees bowed their heads when 
[ io 4 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

they heard it, and the gray rocks cracked and 
rang, and the forest beasts crept near to listen, 
and the birds forsook their nests and hovered 
round. And old Chiron clapt his hands together, 
and beat his hoofs upon the ground, for wonder 
at that magic song. 

Then Peleus kissed his boy, and wept over 
him, and they went down to the ship; and Chiron 
came down with them, weeping, and kissed them 
one by one, and blest them, and promised to them 
great renown. And the heroes wept when they 
left him, till their great hearts could weep no 
more; for he was kind and just and pious, and 
wiser than all beasts and men. Then he went 
up to a cliff, and prayed for them, that they 
might come home safe and well ; while the 
heroes rowed away, and watched him standing 
on his cliff above the sea, with his great hands 
raised toward heaven, and his white locks wav- 
ing in the wind ; and they strained their eyes 
to watch him to the last, for they felt that they 
should look on him no more. 

So they rowed on over the long swell of the 
sea, past Olympus, the seat of the Immortals, 
and past the wooded bays of Athos, and Samo- 
thrace the sacred isle ; and they came past 
[105] 


THE HEROES 


Lemnos to the Hellespont, and through the 
narrow strait of Abydos, and so on into the 
Propontis, which we call Marmora now. And 
there they met with Cyzicus, ruling in Asia 
over the Dolions, who, the songs say, was the 
son of Aineas, of whom you will hear many 
a tale some day. For Homer tells us how he 
fought at Troy; and Vergil how he sailed away 
and founded Rome ; and men believed until late 
years that from him sprang our old British kings. 
Now Cyzicus, the songs say, welcomed the heroes; 
for his father had been one of Chiron’s scholars; 
so he welcomed them, and feasted them, and 
stored their ship with corn and wine, and cloaks 
and rugs, the songs say, and shirts, of which no 
doubt they stood in need. 

But at night, while they lay sleeping, came 
down on them terrible men, who lived with the 
bears in the mountains, like Titans or giants in 
shape; for each of them had six arms, and they 
fought with young firs and pines. But Heracles 
killed them all before morn with his deadly 
poisoned arrows ; but among them, in the dark- 
ness, he slew Cyzicus the kindly prince. 

Then they got to their ship and to their oars, 
and Tiphys bade them cast off the hawsers, and 

L l 06] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


go to sea. But as he spoke a whirlwind came, 
and spun the Argo round, and twisted the haw- 
sers together, so that no man could loose them. 
Then Tiphys dropped the rudder from his hand, 
and cried, "This comes from the Gods above.” 
But Jason went forward, and asked counsel of 
the magic bough. 

Then the magic bough spoke and answered, 
"This is because you have slain Cyzicus your 
friend. You must appease his soul, or you will 
never leave this shore.” 

Jason went back sadly, and told the heroes 
what he had heard. And they leapt on shore, 
and searched till dawn ; and at dawn they found 
the body, all rolled in dust and blood, among 
the corpses of those monstrous beasts. And they 
wept over their kind host, and laid him on a fair 
bed, and heaped a huge mound over him, and 
offered black sheep at his tomb, and Orpheus 
sang a magic song to him, that his spirit might 
have rest. And then they held games at the 
tomb, after the custom of those times, and Jason 
gave prizes to each winner. To Ancaeus he gave 
a golden cup, for he wrestled best of all ; and to 
Heracles a silver one, for he was the strongest of 
all ; and to Castor, who rode best, a golden crest ; 
[ lo 7 ] 


THE HEROES 


and Polydeuces the boxer had a rich carpet, and 
to Orpheus for his song a sandal with golden 
wings. But Jason himself was the best of all 
the archers, and the Minyae crowned him with 
an olive crown ; and so, the songs say, the soul 
of good Cyzicus was appeased, and the heroes 
went on their way in peace. 

But when Cyzicus’ wife heard that he was dead, 
she died likewise of grief; and her tears became 
a fountain of clear water, which flows the whole 
year round. 

Then they rowed away, the songs say, along 
the Mysian shore, and past the mouth of Rhyn- 
dacus, till they found a pleasant bay, sheltered by 
the long ridges of Arganthus, and by high walls 
of basalt rock. And there they ran the ship 
ashore upon the yellow sand, and furled the sail, 
and took the mast down, and lashed it in its 
crutch. And next they let down the ladder, and 
went ashore to sport and rest. 

And there Heracles went away into the woods, 
bow in hand, to hunt wild deer; and Hylas the 
fair boy slipt away after him, and followed him 
by stealth, until he lost himself among the glens, 
and sat down weary to rest himself by the side 
of a lake; and there the water nymphs came up 
[108] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

to look at him, and loved him, and carried him 
down under the lake to be their playfellow, for- 
ever happy and young. And Heracles sought 
for him in vain, shouting his name till all the 
mountains rang; but Hylas never heard him, far 
down under the sparkling lake. So while Her- 
acles wandered searching for him, a fair breeze 
sprang up, and Heracles was nowhere to be 
found ; and the Argo sailed away, and Heracles 
was left behind, and never saw the noble Phasian 
stream. 

Then the Minyae came to a doleful land, where 
Amycus the giant ruled, and cared nothing for 
the laws of Zeus, but challenged all strangers to 
box with him, and those whom he conquered he 
slew. But Polydeuces the boxer struck him a 
harder blow than he ever felt before, and slew 
him ; and the Minyae went on up the Bosporus, 
till they came to the city of Phineus, the fierce 
Bithynian king; for Zetes and Calais bade Jason 
land there, because they had a work to do. 

And they went up from the shore toward 
the city, through forests white with snow; and 
Phineus came out to meet them with a lean and 
woeful face, and said, "Welcome, gallant heroes, 
to the land of bitter blasts, a land of cold and 
[ io 9 ] 


THE HEROES 


misery: yet I will feast you as best I can.” And 
he led them in, and set meat before them ; but 
before they could put their hands to their mouths, 
down came two fearful monsters, the like of whom 
man never saw; for they had the faces and the 
hair of fair maidens, but the wings and claws of 
hawks ; and they snatched the meat from off the 
table, and flew shrieking out above the roofs. 

Then Phineus beat his breast and cried, "These 
are the Harpies, whose names are the Whirl- 
wind and the Swift, the daughters of Wonder 
and of the Amber-nymph, and they rob us night 
and day. They carried off the daughters of Pan- 
dareos, whom all the gods had blest; for Aphro- 
dite fed them on Olympus with honey and milk 
and wine ; and Hera gave them beauty and wis- 
dom, and Athene skill in all the arts; but when 
they came to their wedding, the Harpies snatched 
them both away, and gave them to be slaves to 
the Erinyes, and live in horror all their days. 
And now they haunt me, and my people, and 
the Bosporus, with fearful storms; and sweep 
away our food from off our tables, so that we 
starve in spite of all our wealth.” 

Then up rose Zetes and Calais, the winged 
sons of the North-wind, and said, " Do you not 
[no] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


know us, Phineus, and these wings which grow 
upon our backs?” And Phineus hid his face in 
terror: but he answered not a word. 

" Because you have been a traitor, Phineus, 
the Harpies haunt you night and day. Where is 
Cleopatra our sister, your wife, whom you keep 
in prison ? and where are her two children, whom 
you blinded in your rage, at the bidding of an 
evil woman, and cast them out upon the rocks ? 
Swear to us that you will right our sister, and 
cast out that wicked woman ; and then we will 
free you from your plague, and drive the whirl- 
wind maidens to the south : but if not, we will 
put out your eyes, as you. put out the eyes of 
your own sons.” 

Then Phineus swore an oath to them, and 
drove out the wicked woman; and Jason took 
those two poor children, and cured their eyes 
with magic herbs. 

But Zetes and Calais rose up sadly, and said, 
" Farewell now, heroes all ; farewell, our dear 
companions, with whom we played on Pelion in 
old times ; for a fate is laid upon us, and our day 
is come at last, in which we may hunt the whirl- 
winds, over land and sea forever ; and if we catch 
them, they die, and if not, we die ourselves.” 
[in] 


THE HEROES 




At that all the heroes wept : but the two 
young men sprang up, and aloft into the air 
after the Harpies, and the battle of the winds 
began. 

The heroes trembled in silence as they heard 
the shrieking of the blasts ; while the palace 
rocked and all the city, and great stones were 
torn from the crags, and the forest pines were j 
hurled earthward, north and south and east and 
west, and the Bosporus boiled white with foam, 
and the clouds were dashed against the cliffs. 

But at last the battle ended, and the Harpies 
fled screaming toward the south, and the sons of 
the North-wind rushed after them, and brought ; 
clear sunshine where they passed. For many a 
league they followed them, over all the isles of 
the Cyclades, and away to the southwest across 
Hellas, till they came to the Ionian Sea, and 
there they fell upon the Echinades, at the mouth 
of the Achelous; and those isles were called the 
Whirlwind Isles for many a hundred years. But 
what became of Zetes and Calais I know not; 
for the heroes never saw them again : and some 
say that Heracles met them, and quarreled with 
them, and slew them with his arrows; and some 
say that they fell down from weariness and the 
[ I I 2 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

heat of the summer sun, and that the Sun-god 
buried them among the Cyclades, in the pleasant 
Isle of Tenos; and for many hundred years their 
grave was shown there, and over it a pillar, which 
turned to every wind. But those dark storms and 
whirlwinds haunt the Bosporus until this day. 

But the Argonauts went eastward, and out 
into the open sea, which we now call the Black 
Sea, but it was called the Euxine then. No 
Hellen had ever crossed it, and all feared that 
dreadful sea, and its rocks, and shoals, and fogs, 
and bitter freezing storms ; and they told strange 
stories of it, some false and some half true, how 
it stretched northward to the ends of the earth, 
and the sluggish Putrid Sea, and the everlast- 
ing night, and the regions of the dead. So the 
heroes trembled, for all their courage, as they 
came into that wild Black Sea, and saw it 
stretching out before them, without a shore, as 
far. as eye could see. 

And first Orpheus spoke, and warned them, 
" We shall come now to the wandering blue 
rocks ; my mother warned me of them, Calliope, 
the immortal muse.” 

And soon they saw the blue rocks shining, like 
spires and castles of gray glass, while an ice-cold 
[ ii3] 


THE HEROES 


wind blew from them, and chilled all the heroes’ 
hearts. And as they neared, they could see them 
heaving, as they rolled upon the long sea waves, 
crashing and grinding together, till the roar went 
up to heaven. The sea sprang up in spouts 
between them, and swept round them in white 
sheets of foam ; but their heads swung nodding 
high in air, while the wind whistled shrill among 
the crags. 

The heroes’ hearts sank within them, and they 
lay upon their oars in fear; but Orpheus called 
to Tiphys the helmsman, " Between them we 
must pass; so look ahead for an opening, and 
be brave, for Hera is with us.” But Tiphys the 
cunning helmsman stood silent, clenching his 
teeth, till he saw a heron come flying mast-high 
toward the rocks, and hover awhile before them, 
as if looking for a passage through. Then he 
cried, " Hera has sent us a pilot ; let us follow 
the cunning bird.” 

Then the heron flapped to and fro a moment, 
till he saw a hidden gap, and into it he rushed 
like an arrow, while the heroes watched what 
would befall. 

And the blue rocks clashed together as the 
bird fled swiftly through; but they struck but a 
t"4] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

feather from his tail, and then rebounded apart 
at the shock. 

Then Tiphys cheered the heroes, and they 
shouted ; and the oars bent like withes beneath 
their strokes, as they rushed between those top- 
pling ice-crags, and the cold blue lips of death. 
And ere the rocks could meet again, they had 
passed them, and were safe out in the open sea. 

And after that they sailed on wearily along 
the Asian coast, by the Black Cape and Thynias, 
where the hot stream of Thymbris falls into the 
sea, and Sangarius, whose waters float on the 
Euxine, till they came to Wolf the river, and 
to Wolf the kindly king. And there died two 
brave heroes, Idmon and Tiphys the wise helms- 
man ; one died of an evil sickness, and one a wild 
boar slew. So the heroes heaped a mound above 
them, and set upon it an oar on high, and left 
them there to sleep together, on the far-off Lycian 
shore. But Idas killed the boar, and avenged 
Tiphys; and Ancaeus took the rudder and was 
helmsman, and steered them on toward the east. 

And they went on past Sinope, and many a 
mighty river’s mouth, and past many a barbar- 
ous tribe, and the cities of the Amazons, the war- 
like women of the East, till all night they heard 
[ 1 1 5 ] 


THE HEROES 


the clank of anvils and the roar of furnace blasts, 
and the forge fires shone like sparks through 
the darkness, in the mountain glens aloft ; for 
they were come to the shores of the Chalybes, 
the smiths who never tire, but serve Ares the 
cruel War-god, forging weapons day and night. 

And at day-dawn they looked eastward, and 
midway between the sea and the sky they saw 
white snow-peaks hanging, glittering sharp and 
bright above the clouds. And they knew that 
they were come to Caucasus, at the end of all 
the earth ; Caucasus, the highest of all moun- 
tains, the father of the rivers of the East. On 
his peak lies chained the Titan, while a vulture 
tears his heart ; and at his feet are piled dark 
forests round the magic Colchian land. 

And they rowed three days to the eastward, 
while Caucasus rose higher hour by hour, till 
they saw the dark stream of Phasis rushing 
headlong to the sea, and shining above the tree- 
tops, the golden roofs of King Aietes, the child 
of the Sun. 

Then out spoke Ancaeus the helmsman, " We 
are come to our goal at last; for there are the 
roofs of /Eetes, and the woods where all poisons 
grow; but who can tell us where among them 

[ 1 16 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

is hicl the Golden Fleece ? Many a toil must 
we bear ere we find it, and bring it home to 
Greece.” 

But Jason cheered the heroes, for his heart 
was high and bold ; and he said, " I will go 
alone up to AEetes, though he be the child of 
the Sun, and win him with soft words. Better 
so than to go all together, and to come to blows 
at once.” But the Minyae would not stay behind, 
so they rowed boldly up the stream. 

And a dream came to Aietes, and filled his 
heart with fear. He thought he saw a shining 
star, which fell into his daughter’s lap ; and that 
Medea his daughter took it gladly, and carried 
it to the riverside, and cast it in, and there the 
whirling river bore it down, and out into the 
Euxine Sea. 

Then he leapt up in fear, and bade his serv- 
ants bring his chariot, that he might go down 
to the riverside and appease the nymphs, and 
the heroes whose spirits haunt the bank. So he 
went down in his golden chariot, and his daugh- 
ters by his side, Medea the fair witch-maiden, 
and Chalciope, who had been Phrixus’ wife, and 
behind him a crowd of servants and soldiers, for 
he was a rich and mighty prince. 

[ ” 7 ] 


And as he drove down by the reedy river, he 
saw Argo sliding up beneath the bank, and many 
a hero in her, like Immortals for beauty and for 
strength, as their weapons glittered round them 
in the level morning sunlight, through the white 
mist of the stream. But Jason was the noblest 
of all ; for Hera, who loved him, gave him beauty, 
and tallness, and terrible manhood. 

And when they came near together and looked 
into each other’s eyes, the heroes were awed be- 
fore Aietes as he shone in his chariot, like his 
father the glorious Sun ; for his robes were of rich 
gold tissue, and the rays of his diadem flashed 
fire; and in his hand he bore a jeweled scepter, 
which glittered like the stars ; and sternly he 3 
looked at them under his brows, and sternly he 
spoke and loud, " Who are you, and what want 
you here, that you come to the shore of Cytaea? 
Do you take no account of my rule, nor of my 
people the Colchians who serve me, who never 
tired yet in the battle, and know well how to 
face an invader ? ” 

And the heroes sat silent awhile before the 
face of that ancient king. But Hera the awful 
goddess put courage into Jason’s heart, and he 
rose and shouted loudly in answer, " We are no 
[ 1 1 8 J 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


pirates nor lawless men. We come not to plunder 
and to ravage, or carry away slaves from your 
land; but my uncle, the son of Poseidon, Pelias 
the Minyan king, he it is who has set me on a 
quest to bring home the Golden Fleece. And 
these too, my bold comrades, they are no name- 
less men; for some are the sons of Immortals, 
and some of heroes far renowned. And we too 
never tire in battle, and know well how to give 
blows and to take : yet we wish to be guests at 
your table: it will be better so for both.” 

Then Aietes’ rage rushed up like a whirlwind, 
and his eyes flashed fire as he heard : but he 
crushed his anger down in his breast, and spoke 
mildly a cunning speech, " If you will fight for 
the Fleece with my Colchians, then many a man 
must die. But do you indeed expect to win from 
| me the Fleece in fight ? So few you are that if 
you be worsted I can load your ship with your 
corpses. But if you will be ruled by me, you will 
find it better far to choose the best man among 
you, and let him fulfill the labors which I de- 
mand. Then I will give him the Golden Fleece 
I for a prize and a glory to you all.” 

So saying, he turned his horses and drove 
back in silence to the town. And the Minyae 
[ ll 9] 


THE HEROES 


sat silent with sorrow, and longed for Heracles 
and his strength ; for there was no facing the 
thousands of the Colchians, and the fearful 
chance of war. 

But Chalciope, Phrixus’ widow, went weeping 
to the town ; for she remembered her Minyan 
husband, and all the pleasures of her youth, 
while she watched the fair faces of his kins- 
men, and their long locks of golden hair. And 
she whispered to Medea her sister, " Why should 
all these brave men die ? why does not my father 
give them up the Fleece, that my husband’s spirit 
may have rest ? ” 

And Medea’s heart pitied the heroes, and 
Jason most of all: and she answered, " Our 
father is stern and terrible, and who can win the 
Golden Fleece ? ” But Chalciope said, " These 
men are not like our men ; there is nothing 
which they cannot dare nor do.” 

And Medea thought of Jason and his brave 
countenance, and said, " If there was one among 
them who knew no fear, I could show him how 
to win the Fleece.” 

So in the dusk of evening they went down 
to the riverside, Chalciope and Medea the witch- 
maiden, and Argus, Phrixus’ son. And Argus 
[120] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

the boy crept forward, among the beds of reeds, 
till he came where the heroes were sleeping, on 
the thwarts of the ship, beneath the bank, while 
Jason kept ward on shore, and leant upon his 
lance full of thought. And the boy came to 
Jason, and said, " I am the son of Phrixus, your 
cousin ; and Chalciope my mother waits for you, 
to talk about the Golden Fleece.” 

Then Jason went boldly with the boy, and 
found the two princesses standing ; and when 
Chalciope saw him she wept, and took his hands, 
and cried, " O cousin of my beloved, go home 
before you die ! ” 

"It would be base to go home now, fair prin- 
cess, and to have sailed all these seas in vain.” 
Then both the princesses besought him : but 
Jason said, " It is too late.” 

" But you know not,” said Medea, " what he 
must do who would win the Fleece. He must 
tame the two brazen-footed bulls, who breathe 
devouring flame ; and with them he must plough 
ere nightfall four acres in the field of Ares ; and 
he must sow them with serpents’ teeth, of which 
each tooth springs up into an armed man. Then 
he must fight with all those warriors; and little 
will it profit him to conquer them ; for the Fleece 
[ 121 ] 


THE HEROES 


is guarded by a serpent, more huge than any 
mountain pine, and over his body you must step 
if you would reach the Golden Fleece. ,, 

Then Jason laughed bitterly. " Unjustly is that 
Fleece kept here, and by an unjust and lawless 
king ; and unjustly shall I die in my youth, for 
I will attempt it ere another sun be set.” 

Then Medea trembled, and said, " No mortal 
man can reach that Fleece unless I guide him 
through. For round it, beyond the river, is a 
wall full nine ells high, with lofty towers and 
buttresses, and mighty gates of threefold brass; 
and over the gates the wall is arched, with 
golden battlements above. And over the gate- 
way sits Brimo, the wild witch-huntress of the 
wood, brandishing a pine torch in her hands, 
while her mad hounds howl around. No man 
dare meet her or look on her, but only I her 
priestess, and she watches far and wide lest any 
stranger should come near.” 

" No wall so high but it may be climbed at 
last, and no wood so thick but it may be crawled 
through ; no serpent so wary but he may be 
charmed, or witch-queen so fierce but spells 
may soothe her ; and I may yet win the Golden 
Fleece if a wise maiden help bold men.” 

[ 122 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

And he looked at Medea cunningly, and held 
her with his glittering eye, till she blushed and 
trembled, and said, " Who can face the fire of the 
bulls’ breath, and fight ten thousand armed men? ” 

" He whom you help,” said Jason, flattering 
her, " for your fame is spread over all the earth. 
Are you not the queen of all enchantresses, wiser 
even than your sister Circe in her fairy island in 
the West ? ” 

" Would that I were with my sister Circe in 
her fairy island in the West, far away from sore 
temptation, and thoughts which tear the heart! 
But if it must be so — for why should you die? 
— I have an ointment here ; I made it from the 
magic ice-flower which sprang from Prometheus’ 
wound, above the clouds on Caucasus, in the 
dreary fields of snow. Anoint yourself with that, 
and you shall have in you seven men’s strength; 
and anoint your shield with it, and neither fire 
nor sword can harm you. But what you begin 
you must end before sunset, for its virtue lasts 
only one day. And anoint your helmet with it 
before you sow the serpents’ teeth; and when 
the sons of earth spring up, cast your helmet 
among the ranks, and the deadly crop of the 
War-god’s field will mow itself, and perish.” 
[123] 


THE HEROES 


Then Jason fell on his knees before her, and 
thanked her and kissed her hands ; and she gave 
him the vase of ointment, and fled trembling 
through the reeds. And Jason told his comrades 
what had happened, and showed them the box 
of ointment; and all rejoiced but Idas, and he 
grew mad with envy. 

And at sunrise Jason went and bathed, and 
anointed himself from head to foot, and his 
shield, and his helmet, and his weapons, and 
bade his comrades try the spell. So they tried 
to bend his lance, but it stood like an iron bar; 
and Idas in spite hewed at it with his sword, 
but the blade flew to splinters in his face. Then 
they hurled their lances at his shield, but the 
spear-points turned like lead; and Caeneus tried 
to throw him, but he never stirred a foot; and 
Polydeuces struck him with his fist a blow 
which would have killed an ox; but Jason only 
smiled, and the heroes danced about him with 
delight ; and he leapt, and ran, and shouted, in 
the joy of that enormous strength, till the sun 
rose, and it was time to go and to claim Petes’ 
promise. 

So he sent up Telamon and AEthalides to tell 
Aietes that he was ready for the fight ; and they 
[ I2 4 ] 



I 





THE HEROES 

went up among the marble walls, and beneath 
the roofs of gold, and stood in /Eetes’ hall, while 
he grew pale with rage. 

" Fulfill your promise to us, child of the blazing 
Sun. Give us the serpents’ teeth, and let loose 
the fiery bulls; for we have found a champion 
among us who can win the Golden Fleece.” 

And /Eetes bit his lips, for he fancied that , 
they had fled away by night: but he could not 
go back from his promise ; so he gave them the 
serpents’ teeth. 

Then he called for his chariot and his horses, | 
and sent heralds through all the town ; and all * 
the people went out with him to the dreadful 
War-god’s field. 

And there Aietes sat upon his throne, with 
his warriors on each hand, thousands and tens f 
of thousands, clothed from head to foot in steel \ 
chain-mail. And the people and the women * 
crowded to every window, and bank, and wall; I 
while the Minyae stood together, a mere handful 
in the midst of that great host. 

And Chalciope was there and Argus, trem- 
bling, and Medea, wrapped closely in her veil: 
but /Eetes did not know that she was muttering 
cunning spells between her lips. 

[126] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


Then Jason cried, " Fulfill your promise, and 
let your fiery bulls come forth.” 

Then Aietes bade open the gates, and the 
magic bulls leapt out. Their brazen hoofs rang 
upon the ground, and their nostrils sent out 
sheets of flame, as they rushed with lowered 
heads upon Jason; but he never flinched a step. 
The flame of their breath swept round him, but 
it singed not a hair of his head; and the bulls 
stopped short and trembled when Medea began 
her spell. 

Then Jason sprang upon the nearest, and seized 
him by the horn ; and up and down they wrestled 
till the bull fell groveling on his knees; for the 
heart of the brute died within him, and his mighty 
limbs were loosed, beneath the steadfast eye of 
that dark watch-maiden, and the magic whisper 
of her lips. 

So both the bulls were tamed and yoked; and 
Jason bound them to the plough, and goaded 
them onward with his lance till he had ploughed 
the sacred field. 

And all the Minyae shouted: but Aietes 
bit his lips with rage; for the half of Jason’s 
work was over, and the sun was yet high in 
heaven. 


[ 127 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then he took the serpents’ teeth and sowed 
them, and waited what would befall. But Medea 
looked at him and at his helmet, lest he should 
forget the lesson she had taught. 

And every furrow heaved and bubbled, and 
out of every clod rose a man. Out of the earth 
they rose by thousands, each clad from head to 
foot in steel, and drew their swords and rushed 
on Jason, where he stood in the midst alone. 

Then the Minyae grew pale with fear for him; 
but /Eetes laughed a bitter laugh. " See ! if I 
had not warriors enough already round me, I 
could call them out of the bosom of the earth.” 

But Jason snatched off his helmet, and hurled 
it into the thickest of the throng. And blind 
madness came upon them, suspicion, hate, and 
fear ; and one cried to his fellow, " Thou didst 
strike me!” and another, "Thou art Jason; thou 
shalt die ! ” So fury seized those earth-born phan- 
toms, and each turned his hand against the rest ; 
and they fought and were never weary till they 
all lay dead upon the ground. Then the magic 
furrows opened, and the kind earth took them 
home into her breast; and the grass grew up all 
green again above them, and Jason’s work was 
done. 


[128] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Then the Minyae rose and shouted, till Prome- 
theus heard them from his crag. And Jason 
cried, " Lead me to the Fleece this moment, 
before the sun goes down.” 

But yEetes thought, " He has conquered the 
bulls ; and sown and reaped the deadly crop. 
Who is this who is proof against all magic? He 
may kill the serpent yet.” So he delayed, and 
sat taking counsel with his princes, till the sun 
went down, and all was dark. Then he bade a 
herald cry, " Every man to his home for to-night. 
To-morrow we will meet these heroes, and speak 
about the Golden Fleece.” 

Then he turned and looked at Medea: "This 
is your doing, false witch-maid ! You have helped 
these yellow-haired strangers, and brought shame 
upon your father and yourself ! ” 

Medea shrank and trembled, and her face grew 
pale with fear; and /Eetes knew that she was guilty, 
and whispered, " If they win the Fleece, you die ! ” 
But the Minyae marched toward their ship, 
growling like lions cheated of their prey; for 
they saw that JEetes meant to mock them, and 
to cheat them out of all their toil. And Oileus 
said, " Let us go to the grove together, and take 
the Fleece by force.” 


L i29] 


THE HEROES 


And Idas the rash cried, " Let us draw lots 
who shall go in first; for while the dragon is 
devouring one, the rest can slay him, and carry 
off the Fleece in peace.” But Jason held them 
back, though he praised them ; for he hoped for 
Medea’s help. 

And after a while Medea came trembling, and 
wept a long while before she spoke. And at last, 
" My end is come, and I must die ; for my father 
has found out that I have helped you. You he 
would kill if he dared ; but he will not harm 
you, because you have been his guests. Go 
then, go, and remember poor Medea when you 
are far away across the sea.” 

But all the heroes cried, "If you die, we die 
with you ; for without you we cannot win the 
Fleece, and home we will not go without it, but 
fall here fighting to the last man.” 

"You need not die,” said Jason. "Flee 
home with us across the sea. Show us first 
how to win the Fleece ; for you can do it. 
Why else are you the priestess of the grove ? 
Show us but how to win the Fleece, and come 
with us, and you shall be my queen, and rule 
over the rich princes of the Minyae, in Iolcos 
by the sea.” 


[ I 3° ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

And all the heroes pressed round, and vowed 
to her that she should be their queen. 

Medea wept, and shuddered, and hid her face 
in her hands; for her heart yearned after her sisters 
and her playfellows, and the home where she was 
brought up as a child. But at last she looked up 
at Jason, and spoke between her sobs, " Must I 
leave my home and my people to wander with 
strangers across the sea? The lot is cast, and I 
must endure it. I will show you how to win the 
Golden Fleece. Bring up your ship to the wood- 
side, and moor her there against the bank ; and let 
Jason come up at midnight, and one brave comrade 
with him, and meet me beneath the wall.” 

Then all the heroes cried together, " I will 
go!” " and I!” "and I!” And Idas the rash 
grew mad with envy; for he longed to be fore- 
most in all things. But Medea calmed them, 
and said, " Orpheus shall go with Jason, and 
bring his magic harp ; for I hear of him that 
he is the king of all minstrels, and can charm 
all things on earth.” 

And Orpheus laughed for joy, and clapped his 
hands, because the choice had fallen on him ; for 
in those days poets and singers were as bold 
warriors as the best. 


[!3i] 


THE HEROES 


So at midnight they went up the bank, and 
found Medea; and beside came Absyrtus her 
young brother, leading a yearling lamb. 

Then Medea brought them to a thicket, beside 
the War-god’s gate; and there she bade Jason 
dig a ditch, and kill the lamb and leave it there, 
and strew on it magic herbs and honey from the 
honeycomb. 

Then sprang up through the earth, with the 
red fire flashing before her, Brimo the wild witch- 
huntress, while her mad hounds howled around. 
She had one head like a horse’s, and another 
like a ravening hound’s, and another like a hiss- 
ing snake’s, and a sword in either hand. And 
she leapt into the ditch with her hounds, and 
they ate and drank their fill, while Jason and 
Orpheus trembled, and Medea hid her eyes. 
And at last the witch-queen vanished, and fled 
with her hounds into the woods ; and the bars 
of the gates fell down, and the brazen doors 
flew wide, and Medea and the heroes ran for- 
ward and hurried through the poison wood, 
among the dark stems of the mighty beeches, 
guided by the gleam of the Golden Fleece, 
until they saw it hanging on one vast tree in 
the midst. And Jason would have sprung to 
[132] 




THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

seize it: but Medea held him back, and pointed 
shuddering to the tree-foot, where the mighty 
serpent lay, coiled in and out among the roots, 
with a body like a mountain pine. His coils 
stretched many a fathom, spangled with bronze 
and gold ; and half of him they could see, but 
no more ; for the rest lay in the darkness far 
beyond. 

And when he saw them coming, he lifted up 
his head, and watched them with his small bright 
eyes, and flashed his forked tongue, and roared 
like the fire among the woodlands, till the forest 
tossed and groaned. For his cry shook the trees 
from leaf to root, and swept over the long reaches 
of the river, and over /Fetes’ hall, and woke the 
sleepers in the city, till mothers clasped their 
children in their fear. 

But Medea called gently to him ; and he 
stretched out his long spotted neck, and licked 
her hand, and looked up in her face, as if to ask 
for food. Then she made a sign to Orpheus, and 
he began his magic song. 

And as he sung, the forest grew calm again, 
and the leaves on every tree hung still ; and the 
serpent’s head sank down, and his brazen coils 
grew limp, and his glittering eyes closed lazily, till 
[ 133 ] 


THE HEROES 


he breathed as gently as a child, while Orpheus 
called to pleasant Slumber, who gives peace to 
men, and beasts, and waves. 

Then Jason leapt forward warily, and stept 
across that mighty snake, and tore the Fleece from 
off the tree-trunk ; and the four rushed down the 
garden, to the bank where the Argo lay. 

There was a silence for a moment, while Jason 
held the Golden Fleece on high. Then he cried, 
" Go now, good Argo, swift and steady, if ever 
you would see Pelion more.” 

And she went, as the heroes drove her, grim 
and silent all, with muffled oars, till the pine 
wood bent like willow in their hands, and stout 
Argo groaned beneath their strokes. 

On and on, beneath the dewy darkness, they 
fled swiftly down the swirling stream ; under- 
neath black walls, and temples, and the castles 
of the princes of the East; past sluice-mouths, 
and fragrant gardens, and groves of all strange 
fruits; past marshes where fat kine lay sleeping, 
and long beds of whispering reeds ; till they 
heard the merry music of the surge upon the 
bar, as it tumbled in the moonlight all alone. 

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt 
the breakers like a horse ; for she knew the time 
[ 1 34 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

was come to show her mettle, and win honor for 
the heroes and herself. 

Into the surge they rushed, and Argo leapt 
the breakers like a horse, till the heroes stopped 
all panting, each man upon his oar, as she slid 
into the still broad sea. 

Then Orpheus took his harp and sang a paean, 
till the heroes’ hearts rose high again ; and they 
rowed on stoutly and steadfastly, away into the 
darkness of the West. 


[135] 



PART V 

HOW THE ARGONAUTS WERE DRIVEN INTO 
THE UNKNOWN SEA 

3 THEY fled away in haste to the west- 



ward : but Aretes manned his fleet and 


followed them. And Lynceus the quick- 
eyed saw him coming, while he was still many 
a mile away, and cried, " I see a hundred ships, 
like a flock of white swans, far in the east.” 
And at that they rowed hard, like heroes; but 
the ships came nearer every hour. 

Then Medea, the dark witch-maiden, laid a cruel 
and a cunning plot; for she killed Absyrtus her 
young brother, and cast him into the sea, and said, 
" Ere my father can take up his corpse and bury 
it, he must wait long, and be left far behind.” 

And all the heroes shuddered, and looked one 
at the other for shame; yet they did not punish 
that dark witch-woman, because she had won for 
them the Golden Fleece. 


[i36] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

And when Aretes came to the place, he saw 
the floating corpse ; and he stopped a long while, 
and bewailed his son, and took him up, and went 
home. But he sent on his sailors toward the 
westward, and bound them by a mighty curse: 
" Bring back to me that dark witch-woman, that 
she may die a dreadful death. But if you return 
without her, you shall die by the same death 
yourselves.” 

So the Argonauts escaped for that time : hut 
Father Zeus saw that foul crime ; and out of the 
heavens he sent a storm, and swept the ship 
far from her course. Day after day the storm 
drove her, amid foam and blinding mist, till they 
knew no longer where they were, for the sun was 
blotted from the skies. And at last the ship 
struck on a shoal, amid low isles of mud and 
sand, and the waves rolled over her and through 
her, and the heroes lost all hope of life. 

Then Jason cried to Hera, " Fair queen, who 
hast befriended us till now, why hast thou left 
us in our misery, to die here among unknown 
seas ? It is hard to lose the honor which we 
have won with such toil and danger, and hard 
never to see Hellas again, and the pleasant bay 
of Pagasae.” 


[ 137 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then out and spoke the magic bough which 
stood upon the Argo’s beak, " Because Father 
Zeus is angry, all this has fallen on you ; for a 
cruel crime has been done on board, and the 
sacred ship is foul with blood.” 

At that some of the heroes cried, " Medea is 
the murderess. Let the witch-woman bear her 
sin, and die ! ” And they seized Medea, to hurl 
her into the sea and atone for the young boy’s 
death : but the magic bough spoke again, " Let 
her live till her crimes are full. Vengeance waits 
for her, slow and sure ; but she must live, for 
you need her still. She must show you the way 
to her sister Circe, who lives among the islands 
of the West. To her you must sail, a weary way, 
and she shall cleanse you from your guilt.” 

Then all the heroes wept aloud when they 
heard the sentence of the oak ; for they knew 
that a dark journey lay before them, and years 
of bitter toil. And some upbraided the dark 
witch- woman, and some said, " Nay, we are her 
debtors still; without her we should never have 
won the Fleece.” But most of them bit their 
lips in silence, for they feared the witch’s spells. 

And now the sea grew calmer, and the sun 
shone out once more, and the heroes thrust the 
[ 138 ] 




THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS • 

ship off the sandbank, and rowed forward on 
their weary course, under the guiding of the 
dark witch-maiden, into the wastes of the un- 
known sea. 

Whither they went I cannot tell, nor how 
they came to Circe’s isle. Some say that they 
went to the westward, and up the Ister stream, 
and so came into the Adriatic, dragging their 
ship over the snowy Alps. And others say that 
they went southward, into the Red Indian Sea, 
and past the sunny lands where spices grow, 
round ^Ethiopia toward the West; and that at 
last they came to Libya, and dragged their ship 
across the burning sands, and over the hills into 
the Syrtes, where the flats and quicksands spread 
for many a mile, between rich Cyrene and the 
Lotus-eaters’ shore. But all these are but dreams 
and fables, and dim hints of unknown lands. 

But all say that they came to a place where 
they had to drag their ship across the land nine 
days with ropes and rollers, till they came into 
an unknown sea. And the best of all the old 
songs tells us how they went away toward the 
North, till they came to the slope of Caucasus, 
where it sinks into the sea; and to the narrow 
Cimmerian Bosporus, where the Titan swam 
[ i39] 


THE HEROES 


across upon the bull ; and thence into the lazy 
waters of the still Maeotid lake. And thence 
they went northward ever, up the Tanais, which 
we call Don, past the Geloni and Sauromatae, 
and many a wandering shepherd-tribe, and the 
one-eyed Arimaspi, of whom old Greek poets 
tell, who steal the gold from the Griffins, in the 
cold Rhipaean hills. 

And they passed the Scythian archers, and the 
Tauri who eat men, and the wandering Hyper- 
borei, who feed their flocks beneath the polestar, 
until they came into the northern ocean, the dull 
dead Cronian Sea. And there Argo would move 
on no longer; and each man clasped his elbow, 
and leaned his head upon his hand, heart-broken 
with toil and hunger, and gave himself up to 
death. But brave Ancaeus the helmsman cheered 
up their hearts once more, and bade them leap on 
land, and haul the ship with ropes and rollers 
for many a weary day, whether over land, or 
mud, or ice, I know not, for the song is mixed 
and broken like a dream. And it says next how 
they came to the rich nation of the famous long- 
lived men ; and to the coast of the Cimmerians, 
who never saw the sun, buried deep in the glens 
of the snow mountains ; and to the fair land of 
[140] 




THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Hermione, where dwelt the most righteous of all 
nations ; and to the gates of the world below, 
and to the dwelling place of dreams. 

And at last Ancaeus shouted, " Endure a little 
while, brave friends, the worst is surely past; for 
I can see the pure west wind ruffle the water, 
and hear the roar of ocean on the sands. So 
raise up the mast, and set the sail, and face 
what comes like men.” 

Then out spoke the magic bough, "Ah, would 
that I had perished long ago, and been whelmed 
by the dread blue rocks, beneath the fierce swell 
of the Euxine ! Better so, than to wander forever, 
disgraced by the guilt of my princes; for the 
blood of Absyrtus still tracks me, and woe follows 
hard upon woe. And now some dark horror 
will clutch me, if I come near the Isle of Ierne. 
Unless you will cling to the land, and sail south- 
ward and southward forever, I shall wander beyond 
the Atlantic, to the ocean which has no shore.” 

Then they blest the magic bough, and sailed 
southward along the land. But ere they could 
pass Ierne, the land of mists and storms, the 
wild wind came down, dark and roaring, and 
caught the sail, and strained the ropes. And 
away they drove twelve nights, on the wide 
[Mi] 


THE HEROES 


wild western sea, through the foam, and over 
the rollers, while they saw neither sun nor stars. 
And they cried again, " We shall perish, for we 
know not where we are. We are lost in the 
dreary damp darkness, and cannot tell north 
from south.” 

But Lynceus the long-sighted called gayly 
from the bows, "Take heart again, brave sailors, 
for I see a pine-clad isle, and the halls of the 
kind Earth-mother, with a crown of clouds around 
them.” 

But Orpheus said, "Turn from them, for no 
living man can land there : there is no harbor 
on the coast, but steep-walled cliffs all round.” 

So Ancaeus turned the ship away ; and for three 
days more they sailed on, till they came to /Eaea, 
Circe’s home, and the fairy island of the West. 

And there Jason bid them land, and seek 
about for any sign of living man. And as they 
went inland, Circe met them, coming down to- 
ward the ship ; and they trembled when they 
saw her; for her hair, and face, and robes shone 
like flame. 

And she came and looked at Medea; and 
Medea hid her face beneath her veil. 

And Circe cried, " Ah, wretched girl, have 

[ M2 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

you forgotten all your sins, that you come hither 
to my island, where the flowers bloom all the 
year round ? Where is your aged father, and the 
brother whom you killed? Little do I expect 
you to return in safety with these strangers 
whom you love. I will send you food and wine: 
but your ship must not stay here, for it is foul 
with sin, and foul with sin its crew.” 

And the heroes prayed her, but in vain, and 
cried, " Cleanse us from our guilt ! ” But she sent 
them away, and said, "Go on to Malea, and there 
you may be cleansed, and return home.” 

Then a fair wind rose, and they sailed east- 
ward, by Tartessus on the Iberian shore, till they 
came to the Pillars of Hercules, and the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. And thence they sailed on through 
the deeps of Sardinia, and past the Ausonian 
islands and the capes of the Tyrrhenian shore, 
till they came to a flowery island, upon a still 
bright summer’s eve. And as they neared it, 
slowly and wearily, they heard sweet songs upon 
the shore. But when Medea heard it, she started, 
and cried, " Beware, all heroes, for these are the 
rocks of the Sirens. You must pass close by 
them, for there is no other channel; but those 
who listen to that song are lost.” 

[ J 43] 


THE HEROES 


Then Orpheus spoke, the king of all minstrels, 
" Let them match their song against mine. I 
have charmed stones, and trees, and dragons, 
how much more the hearts of men ! ” So he 
caught up his lyre, and stood upon the poop, 
and began his magic song. 

And now they could see the Sirens, on Anthe- 
musa, the flowery isle ; three fair maidens sitting 
on the beach, beneath a red rock in the setting 
sun, among beds of crimson poppies and golden 
asphodel. Slowly they sung and sleepily, with 
silver voices, mild and clear, which stole over 
the golden waters, and into the hearts of all the 
heroes, in spite of Orpheus’ song. 

And all things stayed around and listened; 
the gulls sat in white lines along the rocks; on 
the beach great seals lay basking, and kept time 
with lazy heads; while silver shoals of fish came 
up to hearken, and whispered as they broke the 
shining calm. The Wind overhead hushed his 
whistling, as he shepherded his clouds toward 
the west ; and the clouds stood in mid blue, and 
listened dreaming, like a flock of golden sheep. 

And as the heroes listened, the oars fell from 
their hands, and their heads drooped on their 
breasts, and they closed their heavy eyes; and 
[ *44 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

they dreamed of bright still gardens, and of 
slumbers under murmuring pines, till all their 
toil seemed foolishness, and they thought of 
their renown no more. 

d hen one lifted his head suddenly, and cried, 
" What use in wandering forever ? Let us stay 
here and rest awhile.” And another, "Let us 
row to the shore, and hear the words they sing.” 
And another, " I care not for the words, but for 
the music. They shall sing me to sleep, that I 
may rest.” 

And Butes, the son of Pandion, the fairest of 
all mortal men, leapt out and swam toward the 
shore, crying, " I come, I come, fair maidens, to 
live and die here, listening to your song.” 

Then Medea clapped her hands together, and 
cried, " Sing louder, Orpheus, sing a bolder strain; 
wake up these hapless sluggards, or none of them 
will see the land of Hellas more.” 

Then Orpheus lifted his harp, and crashed his 
cunning hand across the strings; and his music 
and his voice rose like a trumpet through the 
still evening air; into the air it rushed like thun- 
der, till the rocks rang and the sea; and into 
their souls it rushed like wine, till all hearts 
beat fast within their breasts. 

[i45] 


THE HEROES 


And he sung the song of Perseus, how the 
Gods led him over land and sea, and how he 
slew the loathly Gorgon, and won himself a 
peerless bride ; and how he sits now with the 
Gods upon Olympus, a shining star in the sky, 
immortal with his immortal bride, and honored 
by all men below. 

So Orpheus sang, and the Sirens, answering 
each other across the golden sea, till Orpheus’ 
voice drowned the Sirens’, and the heroes caught 
their oars again. 

And they cried, " We will be men like Perseus, 
and we will dare and suffer to the last. Sing 
us his song again, brave Orpheus, that we may 
forget the Sirens and their spell.” 

And as Orpheus sang, they dashed their oars 
into the sea, and kept time to his music, as 
they fled fast away; and the Sirens’ voices died 
behind them, in the hissing of the foam along 
their wake. 

But Butes swam to the shore, and knelt down 
before the Sirens, and cried, " Sing on ! sing on!” 
But he could say no more; for a charmed sleep 
came over him, and a pleasant humming in his 
ears; and he sank all along upon the pebbles, 
and forgot all heaven and earth, and never looked 
[146] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

at that sad beach around him, all strewn with the 
bones of men. 

Then slowly rose up those three fair sisters, 
with a cruel smile upon their lips; and slowly 
they crept down towards him, like leopards who 
creep upon their prey; and their hands were 
like the talons of eagles, as they stept across the 
bones of their victims to enjoy their cruel feast. 

But fairest Aphrodite saw him from the high- 
est Idalian peak, and she pitied his youth and 
his beauty, and leapt up from her golden throne ; 
and like a falling star she cleft the sky, and left 
a trail of glittering light, till she stooped to the 
Isle of the Sirens, and snatched their prey from 
their claws. And she lifted Butes as he lay 
sleeping, and wrapt him in a golden mist; and 
she bore him to the peak of Lilybaeum ; and he 
slept there many a pleasant year. 

But when the Sirens saw that they were con- 
quered, they shrieked for envy and rage, and 
leapt from the beach into the sea, and were 
changed into rocks until this day. 

Then they came to the straits by Lilybaeum, 
and saw Sicily, the three-cornered island, under 
which Enceladus the giant lies groaning day and 
night, and when he turns the earth quakes, and 
[ 147 ] 


THE HEROES 


his breath bursts out in roaring flames from the 
highest cone of /Etna, above the chestnut woods. 
And there Chary bdis caught them in its fearful 
coils of wave, and rolled mast-high about them, 
and spun them round and round ; and they could 
go neither back nor forward, while the whirlpool 
sucked them in. 

And while they struggled they saw near them, 
on the other side the strait, a rock stand in the 
water, with its peak wrapt round in clouds ; a rock 
which no man could climb, though he had twenty 
hands and feet, for the stone was smooth and slip- 
pery, as if polished by man’s hand ; and halfway 
up a misty cave looked out toward the west. 

And when Orpheus saw it, he groaned, and 
struck his hands together. And, " Little will it 
help us,” he cried, "to escape the jaws of the 
whirlpool ; for in that cave lives Scylla, the sea 
hag with a young whelp’s voice ; my mother 
warned me of her ere we sailed away from Hel- 
las; she has six heads, and six long necks, and 
hides in that dark cleft. And from her cave she 
fishes for all things which pass by, for sharks, 
and seals, and dolphins, and all the herds of 
Amphitrite. And never ship’s crew boasted that 
they came safe by her rock; for she bends her 
[148] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


long necks down to them, and every mouth takes 
up a man. And who will help us now ? For 
Hera and Zeus hate us, and our ship is foul 
with guilt; so we must die, whatever befalls.” 

Then out of the depths came Thetis, Peleus’ 
silver-footed bride, for love of her gallant hus- 
band, and all her nymphs around her; and they 
played like snow-white dolphins, diving on from 
wave to wave, before the ship, and in her wake, 
and beside her, as dolphins play. And they 
caught the ship, and guided her, and passed her 
on from hand to hand, and tossed her through 
the billows as maidens toss the ball. And when 
Scylla stooped to seize her, they struck back 
her ravening heads, and foul Scylla whined, as a 
whelp whines, at the touch of their gentle hands. 
But she shrank into her cave affrighted ; for all 
bad things shrink from good ; and Argo leapt 
safe past her, while a fair breeze rose behind. 
Then Thetis and her nymphs sank down to their 
coral caves beneath the sea, and their gardens 
of green and purple, where live flowers bloom 
all the year round ; while the heroes went on 
rejoicing, yet dreading what might come next. 

After that they rowed on steadily for many a 
weary day, till they saw a long high island, and 
[ 149 ] 


THE HEROES 


beyond it a mountain land. And they searched 
till they found a harbor, and there rowed boldly 
in. But after a while they stopped, and won- 
dered ; for there stood a great city on the shore, 
and temples and walls and gardens, and castles 
high in air upon the cliffs. And on either side 
they saw a harbor, with a narrow mouth, but 
wide within ; and black ships without number, 
high and dry upon the shore. 

Then Ancaeus, the wise helmsman, spoke, 
" What new wonder is this ? I know all isles, and 
harbors, and the windings of all seas; and this 
should be Corcyra, where a few wild goatherds 
dwell. But whence come these new harbors, and 
vast works of polished stone ? ” 

But Jason said, “They can be no savage peo- 
ple. We will go in and take our chance.” 

So they rowed into the harbor, among a thou- 
sand black-beaked ships, each larger far than 
Argo, toward a quay of polished stone. And 
they wondered at that mighty city, with its roofs 
of burnished brass, and long and lofty walls of 
marble, with strong palisades above. And the 
quays were full of people, merchants, and mari- 
ners, and slaves, going to and fro with merchan- 
dise among the crowd of ships. And the heroes’ 
[150] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

hearts were humbled, and they looked at each 
other and said, "We thought ourselves a gallant 
crew when we sailed from Iolcos by the sea: but 
how small we look before this city, like an ant 
before a hive of bees ! ” 

Then the sailors hailed them roughly from 
the quay, " What men are you ? — we want no 
strangers here, nor pirates. We keep our busi- 
ness to ourselves.” 

But Jason answered gently, with many a flat- 
tering word, and praised their city and their 
harbor, and their fleet of gallant ships. " Surely 
you are the children of Poseidon, and the mas- 
ters of the sea; and we are but poor wandering 
mariners, worn out with thirst and toil. Give 
us but food and water, and we will go on our 
voyage in peace.” 

Then the sailors laughed, and answered, 
" Stranger, you are no fool ; you talk like an 
honest man, and you shall find us honest too.. 
We are the children of Poseidon, and the mas- 
ters of the sea; but come ashore to us, and you 
shall have the best that we can give.” 

So they limped ashore, all stiff and weary, with 
long ragged beards and sunburnt cheeks, and 
garments torn and weather-stained, and weapons 
[i5i] 


THE HEROES 


rusted with the spray, while the sailors laughed 
at them (for they were rough-tongued, though 
their hearts were frank and kind). And one said, 
" These fellows are but raw sailors; they look 
as if they had been seasick all the day.” And 
another, " Their legs have grown crooked with 
much rowing, till they waddle in their walk like 
ducks.” 

At that Idas the rash would have struck 
them; but Jason held him back, till one of 
the merchant kings spoke to them, a tall and 
stately man. 

" Do not be angry, strangers ; the sailor boys 
must have their jest. But we will treat you 
justly and kindly, for strangers and poor men 
come from God ; and you seem no common 
sailors by your strength, and height, and weap- 
ons. Come up with me to the palace of Alcin- 
ous, the rich sea-going king, and we will feast 
you well and heartily; and after that you shall 
tell us your name.” 

But Medea hung back, and trembled, and whis- 
pered in Jason’s ear, "We are betrayed, and are 
going to our ruin; for I see my countrymen 
among the crowd; dark-eyed Colchi in steel mail- 
shirts, such as they wear in my father’s land.” 

[! 52 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

" It is too late to turn,” said Jason. And he 
spoke to the merchant king, " What country is 
this, good sir ; and what is this new-built town ? ” 

" This is the land of the Phaeaces, beloved by 
all the Immortals; for they come hither and 
feast like friends with us, and sit by our side 
in the hall. Hither we came from Liburnia to 
escape the unrighteous Cyclopes; for they robbed 
us, peaceful merchants, of our hard-earned waves 
and wealth. So Nausithous, the son of Poseidon, 
brought us hither, and died in peace ; and now 
his son Alcinous rules us, and Arete the wisest 
of queens.” 

So they went up across the square, and won- 
dered still more as they went ; for along the 
quays lay in order great cables, and yards, and 
masts, before the fair temple of Poseidon, the 
blue-haired king of the seas. And round the 
square worked the shipwrights, as many in num- 
ber as ants, twining ropes, and hewing timber, 
and smoothing long yards and oars. And the 
Minyae went on in silence through clean white 
marble streets, till they came to the hall of 
Alcinous, and they wondered then still more. 
For the lofty palace shone aloft in the sun, 
with walls of plated brass, from the threshold 
[*53 ] 


THE HEROES 


to the innermost chamber, and the doors were 
of silver and gold. And on each side of the 
doorway sat living dogs of gold, who never grew 
old or died, so well Hephaestus had made them 
in his forges in smoking Lemnos, and given 
them to Alcinous to guard his gates by night. 
And within, against the walls, stood thrones on 
either side, down the whole length of the hall, 
strewn with rich glossy shawls; and on them 
the merchant kings of those crafty sea-roving 
Phaeaces sat eating and drinking in pride, and 
feasting there all the year round. And boys of 
molten gold stood each on a polished altar, and 
held torches in their hands, to give light all 
night to the guests. And round the house sat 
fifty maidservants, some grinding the meal in 
the mill, some turning the spindle, some weaving 
at the loom, while their hands twinkled as they 
passed the shuttle, like quivering aspen leaves. 

And outside before the palace a great garden 
was walled round, filled full of stately fruit trees, 
with olives and sweet figs, and pomegranates, 
pears, and apples, which bore the whole year 
round. For the rich southwest wind fed them, 
till pear grew ripe on pear, fig on fig, and grape 
on grape, all the winter and the spring. And at 
[ 154 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

the further end gay flower beds bloomed through 
all seasons of the year; and two fair fountains 
rose, and ran, one through the garden grounds, 
and one beneath the palace gate, to water all 
the town. Such noble gifts the heavens had 
given to Alcinous the wise. 

So they went in, and saw him sitting, like 
Poseidon, on his throne, with his golden scepter 
by him, in garments stiff with gold, and in his 
hand a sculptured goblet, as he pledged the 
merchant kings ; and beside him stood Arete, 
his wise and lovely queen, and leaned against 
a pillar, as she spun her golden threads. 

Then Alcinous rose, and welcomed them, and 
bade them sit and eat ; and the servants brought 
them tables, and bread, and meat, and wine. 

But Medea went on trembling toward Arete 
the fair queen,, and fell at her knees, and clasped 
them, and cried, weeping as she knelt, " I am 
your guest, fair queen, and I entreat you by Zeus, 
from whom prayers come. Do not send me back 
to my father, to die some dreadful death : but let 
me go my way, and bear my burden. Have I not 
had enough of punishment and shame ? ” 

" Who are you, strange maiden ? and what is 
the meaning of your prayer ? ” 

[i55] 


THE HEROES 


" I am Medea, daughter of /Ee tes, and I saw 
my countrymen here to-day; and I know that 
they are come to find me, and take me home 
to die some dreadful death.” 

Then Arete frowned, and said, " Lead this 
girl in, my maidens; and let the kings decide, 
not I.” 

And Alcinous leapt up from his throne, and 
cried, " Speak, strangers, who are you ? And 
who is this maiden ? ” 

"We are the heroes of the Minyae,” said Jason; 
"and this maiden has spoken truth. We are 
the men who took the Golden Fleece, the men 
whose iame has run round every shore. We 
came hither out of the ocean, after sorrows such 
as man never saw before. We went out many, 
and come back few, for many a noble comrade 
have we lost. So let us go, as -you should let 
your guests go, in peace ; that the world may 
say, 'Alcinous is a just king.’” 

But Alcinous frowned, and stood deep in 
thought; and at last he spoke, "Had not the 
deed been done which is done, I should have 
said this day to myself, 'It is an honor to Alcin- 
ous, and to his children after him, that the far- 
famed Argonauts are his guests.’ But these 
[ 156 ] 



« 


% 





THE HEROES 


Colchi are my guests, as you are ; and for this 
month they have waited here with all their fleet; 
for they have hunted all the seas of Hellas, and 
could not find you, and dared neither go further, 
nor go home.” 

" Let them choose out their champions, and 
we will fight them, man for man.” 

"No guest of ours shall fight upon our own 
island ; and if you go outside they will out- 
number you. I will do justice between you ; for 
I know and do what is right.” 

Then he turned to his kings, and said, " This 
may stand over till to-morrow. To-night we will 
feast our guests, and hear the story of all their 
wanderings, and how they came hither out of 
the ocean.” 

So Alcinous bade the servants take the 
heroes in, and bathe them, and give them clothes. 
And they were glad when they saw the warm 
water, for it was long since they had bathed. 
And they washed off the sea salt from their 
limbs, and anointed themselves from head to foot 
with oil, and combed out their golden hair. 
Then they came back again into the hall, while 
the merchant kings rose up to do them honor. 
And each man said to his neighbor, "No 
[ 158 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

wonder that these men won fame. How they 
stand now like Giants, or Titans, or Immortals 
come down from Olympus, though many a 
winter has worn them, and many a fearful 
storm! What must they have been when they 
sailed from Iolcos, in the bloom of their youth, 
long ago ? ” 

Then they went out to the garden, and the 
merchant princes said, " Heroes, run races with 
us. Let us see whose feet are nimblest.” 

"We cannot race against you, for our limbs 
are stiff from sea ; and we have lost our two 
swift comrades, the sons of the North-wind. But 
do not think us cowards : if you wish to try our 
strength, we will shoot, and box, and wrestle, 
against any men on earth.” 

And Alcinous smiled, and answered, " I believe 
you, gallant guests; with your long limbs and 
broad shoulders, we could never match you here. 
For we care nothing for boxing, or shooting with 
the bow, but for feasts, and songs, and harping, 
and dancing, and running races, to stretch our 
limbs on shore.” 

So they danced there and ran races, the 
jolly merchant kings, till the night fell, and all 
went in. 


[ 159 ] 


THE HEROES 


And then they ate and drank, and comforted 
their weary souls, till Alcinous called a herald, 
and bade him go and fetch the harper. 

The herald went out, and fetched the harper, 
and led him in by the hand; and Alcinous cut 
him a piece of meat, from the fattest of the 
haunch, and sent it to him, and said, " Sing to 
us, noble harper, and rejoice the heroes’ hearts.” 

So the harper played and sang, while the 
dancers danced strange figures ; and after that 
the tumblers showed their tricks, till the heroes 
laughed again. 

Then, "Tell me, heroes,” asked Alcinous, "you 
who have sailed the ocean round, and seen 
the manners of all nations, have you seen such 
dancers as ours here? or heard such music and 
such singing? We hold ours to be the best on 
earth.” 

" Such dancing we have never seen,” said 
Orpheus ; " and your singer is a happy man ; for 
Phoebus himself must have taught him, or else 
he is the son of a Muse ; as I am also, and have 
sung once or twice, though not so well as he.” 

"Sing to us then, noble stranger,” said Alcin- 
ous ; " and we will give you precious gifts.” 

So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang 
[160] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

to them a stirring song, of their voyage from 
Iolcos, and their dangers, and how they won the 
Golden Fleece; and of Medea’s love, and how 
she helped them, and went with them over land 
and sea ; and of all their fearful dangers, from 
monsters, and rocks, and storms, till the heart 
of Arete was softened, and all the women wept. 
And the merchant kings rose up, each man from 
off his golden throne, and clapped their hands, 
and shouted, " Hail to the noble Argonauts, who 
sailed the unknown sea!” 

Then he went on, and told their journey 
over the sluggish northern main, and through 
the shoreless outer ocean, to the fairy island of 
the West ; and of the Sirens, and Scylla, and 
Charybdis, and all the wonders they had seen, 
till midnight passed, and the day dawned : but 
the kings never thought of sleep. Each man sat 
still and listened, with his chin upon his hand. 

And at last, when Orpheus had ended, they 
all went thoughtful out, and the heroes lay 
down to sleep, beneath the sounding porch out- 
side, where Arete had strewn them rugs and 
carpets, in the sweet still summer night. 

But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for 
Medea, for her heart was softened. And she said, 
[161] 


THE HEROES 


" The gods will punish her, not we. After all, 
she is our guest and my suppliant, and prayers 
are the daughters of Zeus. And who, too, dare 
part man and wife, after all they have endured 
together ? ” 

And Alcinous smiled. "The minstrel’s song 
has charmed you: but I must remember what 
is right, for songs cannot alter justice: and I 
must be faithful to my name. Alcinous I am 
called, the man of sturdy sense, and Alcinous 
I will be.” But for all that Arete besought him, 
until she won him round. 

So next morning he sent a herald, and called 
the kings into the square ; and said, " This is a 
puzzling matter : remember but one thing. These 
Minyae live close by us, and we may meet them 
often on the seas: but ZEetes lives afar off, and 
we have only heard his name. Which then of 
the two is it safer to offend, the men near us, 
or the men far off?” 

The princes laughed, and praised his wisdom ; 
and Alcinous called the heroes to the square, 
and the Colchi also ; and they came and stood 
opposite each other : but Medea stayed in the 
palace. Then Alcinous spoke, " Heroes of the 
Colchi, what is your errand about this lady?” 

[162] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

"To carry her home with us, that she may 
die a shameful death : but if we return without 
her, we must die the death she should have 
died.” 

"What say you to this, Jason the Aiolid?” 
said Alcinous, turning to the Minyae. 

" I say,” said the cunning Jason, "that they are 
come here on a bootless errand. Do you think 
that you can make her follow you, heroes of the 
Golchi ? her, who knows all spells and charms ? 
She will cast away your ships on quicksands, or 
call down on you Brimo the wild huntress; or 
the chains w'U fall from off her wrists, and she 
will escape in her dragon-car: or if not thus, 
some other way; for she has a thousand pians 
and wiles. And why return home at all, brave 
heroes, and face the long seas again, and the 
Bosporus, and the stormy Euxine, and double 
all your toil ? There is many a fair land round 
these coasts, which waits for gallant men like 
you. Better to settle there, and build a city, and 
let Atetes and Colchis help themselves.” 

Then a murmur rose among the Colchi, and 
some cried, "He has spoken well”; and some, 
"We have had enough of roving; we will sail 
the seas no more!” And the chief said at last, 

[163] 


THE HEROES 


" Be it so, then ; a plague she has been to us, and 
a plague to the house of her father, and a plague 
she will be to you. Take her, since you are no 
wiser; and we will sail away toward the north.” 

Then Alcinous gave them food, and water, 
and garments, and rich presents of all sorts ; and 
he gave the same to the Minyae, and sent them 
all away in peace. 

So Jason kept the dark witch-maiden to breed 
him woe and shame : and the Colchi went north- 
ward into the Adriatic, and settled, and built 
towns along the shore. 

Then the heroes rowed away to the eastward, 
to reach Hellas, their beloved land ; but a storm 
came down upon them, and swept them far away 
toward the south. And they rowed till they were 
spent with struggling, through the darkness and 
the blinding rain, but where they were they could 
not tell, and they gave up all hope of life. And 
at last they touched the ground, and when day- 
light came they waded to the shore; and saw noth- 
ing round but sand, and desolate salt pools; for 
they had come to the quicksands of the Syrtis, 
and the dreary treeless flats, which lie between 
Numidia and Cyrene, on the burning shore of 
Africa. And there they wandered starving; for 
[164] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


many a weary day, ere they could launch their 
ship again, and gain the open sea. And there 
Canthus was killed while he was trying to drive 
off sheep, by a stone which a herdsman threw. 

And there too Mopsus died, the seer who 
knew the voices of all birds: but he could not 
foretell his own end, for he was bitten in the 
foot by a snake, one of those which sprang 
from the Gorgon’s head when Perseus carried 
it across the sands. 

At last they rowed away toward the north- 
ward, for many a weary day, till their water 
was spent, and their food eaten ; and they were 
worn out with hunger and thirst. But at last 
they saw a long steep island, and a blue peak 
high among the clouds ; and they knew it for 
the peak of Ida, and the famous land of Crete. 
And they said, " We will land in Crete, and 
see Minos the just king, and all his glory and 
his wealth; at least he will treat us hospitably, 
and let us fill our water casks upon the shore.” 

But when they came nearer to the island they 
saw a wondrous sight upon the cliffs. For on a 
cape to the westward stood a giant, taller than 
any mountain pine; who glittered aloft against 
the sky like a tower of burnished brass. He 
[i65] 


THE HEROES 


turned- and looked on all sides round him, till 
he saw the Argo and her crew; and when he 
saw them he came toward them, more swiftly 
than the swiftest horse, leaping across the glens 
at a bound, and striding at one step from down 
to down. And when he came abreast of them 
he brandished his arms up and down, as a ship 
hoists and lowers her yards, and shouted with 
his brazen throat like a trumpet from off the 
hills, " You are pirates, you are robbers! If you 
dare land here, you die.” 

Then the heroes cried, "We are no pirates. 
We are all good men and true; and all we ask is 
food and water ” : but the giant cried the more, 
"You are robbers, you are pirates all; I know 
you ; and if you land, you shall die the death.” 

Then he waved his arms again as a signal, and 
they saw the people flying inland, driving their 
flocks before them, while a great flame arose 
among the hills. Then the giant ran up a valley 
and vanished; and the heroes lay on their oars 
in fear. 

But Medea stood watching all, from under 
her steep black brows, with a cunning smile 
upon her lips, and a cunning plot within her 
heart. At last she spoke, " I know this giant. 

[ 1 66 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

I heard of him in the East. Hephaestus the 
Fire King made him, in his forge in /Etna 
beneath the earth, and called him Talos, and 
gave him to Minos for a servant, to guard the 
coast of Crete. Thrice a day he walks round 
the island, and never stops to sleep ; and if 
strangers land he leaps into his furnace, which 
flames there among the hills ; and when he is 
red-hot he rushes on them, and burns them in 
his brazen hands.” 

Then all the heroes cried, " What shall we do, 
wise Medea? We must have water, or we die 
of thirst. Flesh and blood we can face fairly: 
but who can face this red-hot brass ? ” 

" I can face red-hot brass, if the tale I hear be 
true. For they say that he has but one vein in all 
his body, filled with liquid fire ; and that this vein 
is closed with a nail : but I know not where that 
nail is placed. But if I can get it once into these 
hands, you shall water your ship here in peace.” 

Then she bade them put her on shore, and 
row off again, and wait what would befall. 

And the heroes obeyed her unwillingly ; for 
they were ashamed to leave her so alone : but 
Jason said, " She is dearer to me than to any 
of you, yet I will trust her freely on shore; she 
[167] 


THE HEROES 


has more plots than we can dream of, in the 
windings of that fair and cunning head.” 

So they left the witch-maiden on the shore ; and 
she stood there in her beauty all alone, till the 
giant strode back red-hot from head to heel, while 
the grass hissed and smoked beneath his tread. 

And when he saw the maiden alone, he 
stopped; and she looked boldly up into his face 
without moving, and began her magic song : 
" Life is short, though life is sweet ; and even 
men of brass and fire must die. The brass 
must rust, the fire must cool, for time gnaws 
all things in their turn. Life is short, though 
life is sweet : but sweeter to live forever ; sweeter 
to live ever youthful like the Gods, who have 
ichor in their veins; ichor which gives life, and 
youth, and joy, and a bounding heart.” 

Then Talos said, " Who are you, strange 
maiden ; and where is this ichor of youth ? ” 
Then Medea held up a flask of crystal, and 
said, " Here is the ichor of youth. I am Medea 
the enchantress ; my sister Circe gave me this, 
and said, 'Go and reward Talos the faithful 
servant, for his fame is gone out into all lands.’ 
So come, and I will pour this into your veins, 
that you may live forever young.” 

[ 168 ] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


And he listened to her false words, that simple 
Talos, and came near; and Medea said, " Dip 
yourself in the sea first, and cool yourself, lest 
you burn my tender hands ; then show me where 
the nail in your vein is, that I may pour the 
ichor in.” 

Then that simple Talos dipped himself in the 
sea, till it hissed, and roared, and smoked ; and 
came and knelt before Medea, and showed her 
the secret nail. 

And she drew the nail out gently : but she 
poured no ichor in ; and instead the liquid fire 
spouted forth, like a stream of red-hot iron. And 
Talos tried to leap up, crying, " You have be- 
trayed me, false witch-maiden ! ” But she lifted 
up her hands before him, and sang, till he sank 
beneath her spell. And as he sank, his brazen 
limbs clanked heavily, and the earth groaned 
beneath his weight; and the liquid fire ran from 
his heel, like a stream of lava, to the sea; and 
Medea laughed, and called to the heroes, " Come 
ashore, and water your ship in peace.” 

So they came, and found the giant lying dead ; 
and they fell down, and kissed Medea’s feet; 
and watered their ship, and took sheep and 
oxen, and so left that inhospitable shore. 

[169] 


THE HEROES 


At last, after many more adventures, they came 
to the Cape of Malea, at the southwest point of 
the Peloponnese. And there they offered sacri- 
fices, and Orpheus purged them from their guilt. 
Then they rowed away again, to the northward, 
past the Laconian shore, and came all worn and 
tired by Sunium, and up the long Euboean Strait, 
until they saw once more Pelion, and Aphetae, 
and Iolcos by the sea. 

And they ran the ship ashore: but they had 
no strength left to haul her up the beach ; and 
they crawled out on the pebbles, and sat down, 
and wept till they could weep no more. For the 
houses and the trees were all altered ; and all the 
faces which they saw were strange ; and their joy 
was swallowed up in sorrow, while they thought 
of their youth, and all their labor, and the gallant 
comrades they had lost. 

And the people crowded round, and asked them, 
" Who are you, that you sit weeping here ? ” 

" We are the sons of your princes, who sailed 
out many a year ago. We went to fetch the 
Golden Fleece, and we have brought it, and 
grief therewith. Give us news of our fathers 
and our mothers, if any of them be left alive 
on earth.” 


f^o] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Then there was shouting, and laughing, and 
weeping; and all the kings came to the shore, 
and they led away the heroes to their homes, 
and bewailed the valiant dead. 

Then Jason went up with Medea to the pal- 
ace of his uncle Pelias. And when he came 
in, Pelias sat by the hearth, crippled and blind 
with age; while opposite him sat AUson, Jason’s 
father, crippled and blind likewise ; and the two 
old men’s heads shook together, as they tried to 
warm themselves before the fire. 

And Jason fell down at his father’s knees, and 
wept, and called him by his name. And the old 
man stretched his hands out, and felt him, and 
said, " Do not mock me, young hero. My son 
Jason is dead long ago at sea.” 

" I am your own son Jason, whom you trusted 
to the Centaur upon Pelion ; and I have brought 
home the Golden Fleece, and a princess of the 
Sun’s race for my bride. So now give me up 
the kingdom, Pelias my uncle, and fulfill your 
promise as I have fulfilled mine.” 

Then his father clung to him like a child, 
and wept, and would not let him go; and cried, 
" Now I shall not go down lonely to my grave. 
Promise me never to leave me till I die.” 

[i7i ] 


PART VI 


WHAT WAS THE END OF THE HEROES 


mND now I wish that I could end my story 
pleasantly: but it is no fault of mine 



that I cannot. The old songs end it 
sadly, and I believe that they are right and wise ; 
for though the heroes were purified at Malea, 
yet sacrifices cannot make bad hearts good, and 
J ason had taken a wicked wife, and he had to 
bear his burden to the last. 

And first she laid a cunning plot to punish 
that poor old Pelias, instead of letting him die 
in peace. 

For she told his daughters, " I can make old 
things young again ; I will show you how easy 
it is to do.” So she took an old ram and killed 
him, and put him in a cauldron with magic 
herbs; and whispered her spells over him, and 
he leapt out again a young lamb. So that 
[172] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


" Medea’s cauldron ” is a proverb still, by which 
we mean times of war and change, when the 
world has become old and feeble, and grows 
young again through bitter pains. 

Then she said to Pelias’ daughters, " Do to 
your father as I did to this ram, and he will 
grow young and strong again.” But she only 
told them half the spell ; so they failed, while 
Medea mocked them ; and poor old Pelias died, 
and his daughters came to misery. But the 
songs say she cured /Eson, Jason’s father, and 
he became young and strong again. 

But Jason could not love her, after all her 
cruel deeds. So he was ungrateful to her, and 
wronged her: and she revenged herself on him. 
And a terrible revenge she took — too terrible 
to speak of here. But you will hear of it your- 
selves when you grow up, for it has been sung 
in noble poetry and music ; and whether it be 
true or not, it stands forever as a warning to 
us, not to seek for help from evil persons, or 
to gain good ends by evil means. For if we use 
an adder, even against our enemies, it will turn 
again and sting us. 

But of all the other heroes there is many a 
brave tale left, which I have no space to tell 
[* 73 ] 


THE HEROES 


you, so you must read them for yourselves: of 
the hunting of the boar in Calydon, which Mel- 
eager killed; and of Heracles’ twelve famous 
labors; and of the seven who fought at Thebes; 
and of the noble love of Castor and Polydeuces, 
the twin Dioscuri, how when one died, the other 
would not live without him, so they shared their 
immortality between them ; and Zeus changed 
them into the two twin stars, which never rise 
both at once. 

And what became of Chiron, the good im- 
mortal beast? That too is a sad story; for the 
heroes never saw him more. He was wounded 
by a poisoned arrow, a, Pholoe among the hills, 
when Heracles opened the fatal wine jar, which 
Chiron had warned him not to touch. And the 
Centaurs smelt the wine, and flocked to it, and 
fought for it with Heracles: but he killed them 
all with his poisoned arrows, and Chiron was 
left alone. Then Chiron took up one of the 
arrows, and dropped it by chance upon his foot; 
and the poison ran like fire along his veins, and 
he lay down, and longed to die ; and cried, 
" Through wine I perish, the bane of all my 
race. Why should I live forever in this agony? 
Who will take my immortality that I may die?” 
l l 74] 


THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 


Then Prometheus answered, the good Titan, 
whom Heracles had set free from Caucasus, 
" I will take your immortality and live forever, 
that I may help poor mortal men.” So Chiron 
gave him his immortality, and died, and had 
rest from pain. And Heracles and Prometheus 
wept over him, and went to bury him on Pelion ; 
but Zeus took him up among the stars, to live 
forever, grand and mild, low down in the far 
southern sky. 

And in time the heroes died, all but Nestor 
the silver-tongued old man ; and left behind them 
valiant sons, but not so great as they had been. 
Yet their fame, too, lives till this day; for they 
fought at the ten years’ siege of T roy ; and their 
story is in the book which we call Homer, in 
two of the noblest songs on earth: the Iliad, 
which tells us of the siege of Troy, and Achilles’ 
quarrel with the kings; and the Odyssey, which 
tells the wanderings of Odysseus, through many 
lands for many years; and how Alcinous sent 
him home at last, safe to Ithaca his beloved 
island, and to Penelope his faithful wife, and 
Telemachus his son, and Euphorbus the noble 
swineherd, and the old dog who licked his hand 
and died. We will read that sweet story, children, 
[i75] 


THE HEROES 


by the fire some winter night. And now I will 
end my tale, and begin another and a more 
cheerful one, of a hero who became a worthy 
king, and won his people’s love. 



[ i/b] 



THE STORY OF THESEUS 

PART I 

HOW THESEUS LIFTED THE STONE 

O NCE upon a time there was a princess 
in Trcezene, TLthra, the daughter of 
Pittheus the king. She had one fair 
son, named Theseus, the bravest lad in all the 
land ; and /Ethra never smiled but when she 
looked at him, for her husband had forgotten 
her, and lived far away. And she used to go up 
to the mountain above Troezene, to the temple 
of Poseidon, and sit there all day looking out 
across the bay, over Methana, to the purple 
peaks of Aigina, and the Attic shore beyond. 
And when Theseus was full fifteen years old, 
she took him up with her to the temple, and 
into the thickets of the grove which grew in 
the temple yard. And she led him to a tall 
l l 77] 



THE HEROES 


plane tree, beneath whose shade grew arbutus, 
and lentisk, and purple heather bushes. And 
there she sighed, and said, " Theseus, my son, 
go into that thicket, and you will find at the 
plane-tree foot a great flat stone ; lift it, and 
bring me what lies underneath.” 

Then Theseus pushed his way in through the 
thick bushes, and saw that they had not been 
moved for many a year. And searching among 
their roots he found a great flat stone, all over- 
grown with ivy, and acanthus, and moss. He 
tried to lift it, but he could not. And he tried 
till the sweat ran down his brow from heat, and 
the tears from his eyes for shame : but all was 
of no avail. And at last he came back to his 
mother, and said, '* I have found the stone, but 
I cannot lift it ; nor do I think that any man 
could in all Trcezene.” 

Then she sighed, and said, " The Gods wait 
long ; but they are just at last. Let it be for 
another year. The day may come when you will 
be a stronger man than lives in all Troezene.” 

Then she took him by the hand, and went 
into the temple and prayed, and came down 
again with Theseus to her home. 

And when a full year was past, she led Theseus 

[178] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

up again to the temple, and bade him lift the 
stone: but he could not. 

Then she sighed, and said the same words 
again, and went down, and came again the next 
year: but Theseus could not lift the stone then, 
nor the year after ; and he longed to ask his 
mother the meaning of that stone, and what 
might lie underneath it ; but her face was so 
sad that he had not the heart to ask. 

So he said to himself, " The day shall surely 
come when I will lift that stone, though no man 
in Troezene can.” And in order to grow strong 
he spent all his days in wrestling, and boxing, 
and hurling, and taming horses, and hunting the 
boar and the bull, and coursing goats and deer 
among the rocks ; till upon all the mountains 
there was no hunter so swift as Theseus ; and 
he killed Phaea, the wild sow of Crommyon, 
which wasted all the land ; till all the people 
said, " Surely the Gods are with the lad.” 

And when his eighteenth year was past, 
./Ethra led him up again to the temple, and 
said, " Theseus, lift the stone this day, or never 
know who you are.” And Theseus went into 
the thicket, and stood over the stone, and tugged 
at it; and it moved. Then his spirit swelled 
[ i79] 


THE HEROES 


within him, and he said, " If I break my heart 
in my body, it shall up.” And he tugged at it 
once more, and lifted it, and rolled it over with 
a shout. 

And when he looked beneath it, on the ground 
lay a sword of bronze, with a hilt of glittering 
gold, and by it a pair of golden sandals; and he 
caught them up, and burst through the bushes 
like a wild boar, and leapt to his mother, holding 
them high above his head. 

But when she saw them she wept long in 
silence, hiding her fair face in her shawl : and 
Theseus stood by her wondering, and wept also, 
he knew not why. And when she was tired of 
weeping, she lifted up her head, and laid her 
finger on her lips, and said, " Hide them in your 
bosom, Theseus my son, and come with me 
where we can look down upon the sea.” 

Then they went outside the sacred wall, and 
looked down over the bright blue sea ; and 
Aithra said, " Do you see this land at our feet ? ” 

And he said, " Yes, this is Troezene, where I 
was born and bred.” 

And she said, "It is but a little land, barren 
and rocky, and looks toward the bleak northeast. 
Do you see that land beyond ? ” 

[ i8° ] 







THE HEROES 


" Yes ; that is Attica, where the Athenian 
people dwell.” 

" That is a fair land and large, Theseus, my 
son; and it looks toward the sunny south; a land 
of olive oil and honey, the joy of Gods and men. 
For the Gods have girdled it with mountains, 
whose veins are of pure silver, and their bones of 
marble white as snow; and there the hills are 
sweet with thyme and basil, and the meadows with 
violet and asphodel, and the nightingales sing all 
day in the thickets, by the side of ever-flowing 
streams. There are twelve towns well peopled, the 
homes of an ancient race, the children of Cecrops 
the serpent king, the son of Mother Earth, who 
wear gold cicalas among the tresses of their golden 
hair; for like the cicalas they sprang from the 
earth, and like the cicalas they sing all day, rejoic- 
ing in the genial sun. What would you do, son 
Theseus, if you were king of such a land ? ” 

Then Theseus stood astonished, as he looked 
across the broad bright sea, and saw the fair 
Attic shore, from Sunium to Hymettus and Pen- 
telicus, and all the mountain peaks which girdle 
Athens round. But Athens itself he could not 
see, for purple ^gina stood before it, midway 
across the sea. 


5 


[182] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

Then his heart grew great within him, and he 
said, " If I were king of such a land, I would 
rule it wisely and well in wisdom and in might, 
that when I died all men might weep over my 
tomb, and cry, ' Alas for the shepherd of his 
people ! ’” 

And Aithra smiled, and said, " Take, then, the 
sword and the sandals, and go to Aegeus king 
of Athens, who lives on Pallas’ hill ; and say to 
him, 1 The stone is lifted, but whose is the pledge 
beneath it?’ Then show him the sword and the 
sandals, and take what the Gods shall send.” 

But Theseus wept, " Shall I leave you, O my 
mother ? ” 

But she answered, " Weep not for me. That 
which is fated must be ; and grief is easy to 
those who do naught but grieve. Full of sorrow 
was my youth, and full of sorrow my woman- 
hood. Full of sorrow was my youth for Beller- 
ophon the slayer of the Chimaera, whom my 
father drove away by treason ; and full of sor- 
row my womanhood for thy treacherous father 
and for thee; and full of sorrow my old age 
will be (for I see my fate in dreams), when the 
sons of the Swan shall carry me captive to the 
hollow vale of Eurotas, till I sail across the seas 
[ 133 ] 


THE HEROES 


a slave, the handmaid of the pest of Greece. 
Yet shall I be avenged, when the golden-haired 
heroes sail against Troy, and sack the palaces 
of Ilium ; then my son shall set me free from 
thraldom, and I shall hear the tale of Theseus’ 
fame. Yet beyond that I see new sorrows; but 
I can bear them as I have borne the past.” 

Then she kissed Theseus, and wept over him ; 
and went into the temple, and Theseus saw her 
no more. 


[184] 



HOW THESEUS SLEW THE DEVOURERS OF MEN 

S O THESEUS stood there alone, with his 
mind full of many hopes. And first he 
thought of going down to the harbor and 
hiring a swift ship, and sailing across the bay 
to Athens; but even that seemed too slow for 
him, and he longed for wings to fly across the 
sea, and find his father. But after a while his 
heart began to fail him, and he sighed, and said 
within himself, "What if my father have other 
sons about him, whom he loves? What if he 
will not receive me? And what have I done 
that he should receive me? He has forgotten 
me ever since I was born : why should he wel- 
come me now ? ” 

Then he thought a long while sadly; and at 
the last he cried aloud, "Yes! I will make him 
love me; for I will prove myself worthy of his 
[ 185 ] 


THE HEROES 


love. I will win honor and renown, and do such 
deeds that Aigeus shall be proud of me, though 
he had fifty other sons! Did not Heracles win 
himself honor though he was opprest, and the 
slave of Eurystheus ? Did he not kill all rob- 
bers and evil beasts, and drain great lakes and 
marshes, breaking the hills through with his 
club? Therefore it was that all men honored 
him, because he rid them of their miseries, and 
made life pleasant to them and their children 
after them. Where can I go, to do as Heracles 
has done ? Where can I find strange adventures, 
robbers, and monsters, and the children of hell, 
the enemies of men ? I will go by land, and 
into the mountains, and round by the way of 
the Isthmus. Perhaps there I may hear of brave 
adventures, and do something which shall win 
my father’s love.” 

So he went by land, and away into the moun- 
tains, with his father’s sword upon his thigh, till 
he came to the Spider Mountains, which hang 
over Epidaurus and the sea, where the glens run 
downward from one peak in the midst, as the 
rays spread in a spider’s web. 

And he went up into the gloomy glens, be- 
tween the furrowed marble walls, till the lowland 
[186] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 


grew blue beneath his feet, and the clouds drove 
damp about his head. 

But he went up and up forever, through the 
spider’s web of glens, till he could see the narrow 
gulfs spread below him, north and south, and 
east and west; black cracks half choked with 
mists, and above all a dreary down. 

But over that down he must go, for there was 
no road right or left; so he toiled on through 
bog and brake, till he came to a pile of stones. 

And on the stones a man was sitting, wrapt 
in a bearskin cloak. The head of the bear served 
him for a cap, and its teeth grinned white around 
his brows ; and the feet were tied about his 
throat, and their claws shone white upon his 
chest. And when he saw Theseus he rose, and 
laughed till the glens rattled. 

"And who art thou, fair fly, who hast walked 
into the spider’s web ? ” But Theseus walked on 
steadily, and made no answer; but he thought, 
"Is this some robber? and has an adventure 
come already to me ? ” 

But the strange man laughed louder than ever, 
and said, " Bold fly, know you not that these 
glens are the web from which no fly ever finds 
his way out again, and this down the spider’s 
[187] 


THE HEROES 


house, and I the spider who suck the flies ? 
Come hither, and let me feast upon you ; for it 
is of no use to run away; so cunning a web 
has my father Hephaestus spread for me when 
he made these clefts in the mountains, through 
which no man finds his way home.” 

But Theseus came on steadily, and asked, 
" And what is your name among men, bold 
spider ? and where are your spider’s fangs ? ” 

Then the strange man laughed again, " My 
name is Periphetes, the son of Hephaestus and 
Anticlea the mountain nymph. But men call 
me Corynetes the club bearer; and here is my 
spider’s fang.” 

And he lifted from off the stones at his side 
a mighty club of bronze. 

" This my father gave me, and forged it him- 
self in the roots of the mountain ; and with it 
I pound all proud flies till they give out their 
fatness and their sweetness. So give me up that 
gay sword of yours, and your mantle, and your 
golden sandals, lest I pound you, and by ill luck 
you die.” 

But Theseus wrapt his mantle round his left 
arm quickly in hard folds, from his shoulder to 
his hand, and drew his sword, and rushed upon 
[188] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

the club bearer, and the club bearer rushed on 
him. 

Thrice he struck at Theseus, and made him 
bend under the blows like a sapling ; but Theseus 
guarded his head with his left arm, and the 
mantle which was wrapped around it. 

And thrice Theseus sprang upright after the 
blow, like a sapling when the storm is past; and 
he stabbed at the club bearer with his sword, 
but the loose folds of the bearskin saved him. 

Then Theseus grew mad, and closed with him, 
and caught him by the throat, and they fell and 
rolled over together: but when Theseus rose up 
from the ground, the club bearer lay still at his 
feet. 

Then Theseus took his club and his bearskin, 
and left him to the kites and crows, and went 
upon his journey down the glens on the further 
slope, till he came to a broad green valley, and 
saw flocks and herds sleeping beneath the trees. 

And by the side of a pleasant fountain, under 
the shade of rocks and trees, were nymphs and 
shepherds dancing; but no one piped to them 
while they danced. 

And when they saw Theseus they shrieked; 
and the shepherds ran off, and drove away their 
[189] 


THE HEROES 


flocks ; while the nymphs dived into the fountain 
like coots, and vanished. 

Theseus wondered and laughed: "What strange 
fancies have folks here who run away from stran- 
gers, and have no music when they dance ! ” But 
he was tired, and dusty, and thirsty ; so he thought 
no more of them, but drank and bathed in the 
clear pool, and then lay down in the shade under 
a plane tree, while the water sang him to sleep, 
as it tinkled down from stone to stone. 

And when he woke he heard a whispering, and 
saw the nymphs peeping at him across the foun- 
tain from the dark mouth' of a cave, where they 
sat on green cushions of moss. And one said, 
"Surely he is not Periphetes”; and another, " He 
looks like no robber, but a fair and gentle youth.” 

Then Theseus smiled, and called them, " Fair 
nymphs, I am not Periphetes. He sleeps among 
the kites and crows: but I have brought away 
his bearskin and his club.” 

Then they leapt across the pool, and came to 
him, and called the shepherds back. And he 
told them how he had slain the club bearer : and 
the shepherds kissed his feet, and sang, u Now 
we shall feed our flocks in peace, and not be 
afraid to have music when we dance; for the 
[190] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 


cruel club bearer has met his match, and he will 
listen for our pipes no more.” 

Then they brought him kid’s flesh and wine, 
and the nymphs brought him honey from the 
rocks; and he ate, and drank, and slept again, 
while the nymphs and shepherds danced and 
sang. And when he woke, they begged him to 
stay ; but he would not. " I have a great work 
to do,” he said ; " I must be away toward the 
Isthmus, that I may go to Athens.” 

But the shepherds said, " Will you go alone 
toward Athens ? None travel that way now, 
except in armed troops.” 

" As for arms, I have enough, as you see. 
And as for troops, an honest man is good 
enough company for himself. Why should I 
not go alone toward Athens ? ” 

" If you do, you must look warily about you 
on the Isthmus, lest you meet Sinis the robber, 
whom men call Pityocamptes the pine bender; 
for he bends down two pine trees, and binds all 
travelers hand and foot between them ; and when 
he lets the trees go again, their bodies are torn 
in sunder.” 

"And after that,” said another, "you must go 
inland, and not dare to pass over the cliffs of 

[191 ] 


THE HEROES 


Sciron; for on the left hand are the mountains, 
and on the right the sea, so that you have no 
escape, but must needs meet Sciron the robber, 
who will make you wash his feet ; and while you 
are washing them he will kick you over the cliff, 
to the tortoise who lives below, and feeds upon 
the bodies of the dead.” 

And before Theseus could answer, another 
cried, "And after that is a worse danger still, 
unless you go inland always, and leave Eleusis 
far on your right. For in Eleusis rules Cercyon 
the cruel king, the terror of all mortals, who 
killed his own daughter Alope in prison. But 
she was changed into a fair fountain; and her 
child he cast out upon the mountains; but the 
wild mares gave it milk. And now he challenges 
all comers to wrestle with him ; for he is the 
best wrestler in all Attica, and overthrows all 
who come: and those whom he overthrows he 
murders miserably, and his palace court is full 
of their bones.” 

Then Theseus frowned, and said, " This seems 
indeed an ill-ruled land, and adventures enough 
in it to be tried. But if I am the heir of it, I 
will rule it and right it, and here is my royal 
scepter.” And he shook his club of bronze, while 
[192] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

the nymphs and shepherds clung round him, and 
entreated him not to go. 

But on he went nevertheless, till he could see 
both the seas, and the citadel of Corinth towering 
high above all the land. And he past swiftly 
along the Isthmus, for his heart burned to meet 
that cruel Sinis ; and in a pine wood at last he 
met 'him, where the Isthmus was narrowest and 
the road ran between high rocks. There he sat 
upon a stone by the wayside, with a young fir 
tree for a club across his knees, and a cord laid 
ready by his side; and over his head, upon the 
fir tops, hung the bones of murdered men. 

Then Theseus shouted to him, " Holla, thou 
valiant pine bender, hast thou two fir trees left 
for me ? ” 

And Sinis leapt to his feet, and answered, 
pointing to the bones above his head, " My larder 
has grown empty lately, so I have two fir trees 
ready for thee.” And he rushed on Theseus, 
lifting his club, and Theseus rushed upon him. 

Then they hammered together till the green- 
woods rang: but the metal was tougher than 
the pine ; and Sinis’ club broke right across, as 
the bronze came down upon it. Then Theseus 
heaved up another mighty stroke, and smote 
[ 193 ] 


THE HEROES 


Sinis down upon his face; and knelt upon his 
back, and bound him with his own cord, and said, 
"As thou hast done to others, so shall it be 
done to thee.” Then he bent down two young 
fir trees, and bound Sinis between them, for all 
his struggling and his prayers, and let them go, 
and ended Sinis, and went on, leaving him to the 
hawks and crows. 

Then he went over the hills toward Megara, 
keeping close along the Saronic Sea, till he 
came to the cliffs of Sciron, and the narrow path 
between the mountain and the sea. 

And there he saw Sciron sitting by a foun- 
tain, at the edge of the cliff. On his knees was 
a mighty club ; and he had barred the path with 
stones, so that every one must stop who came up. 

Then Theseus shouted to him, and said, "Holla, 
thou tortoise feeder, do thy feet need washing 
to-day?” 

And Sciron leapt to his feet, and answered, 
" My tortoise is empty and hungry, and my feet 
need washing to-day.” And he stood before his 
barrier, and lifted up his club in both hands. 

Then Theseus rushed upon him ; and sore 
was the battle upon the cliff; for when Sciron 
felt the weight of the bronze club, he dropt his 
[* 94 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 


own, and closed with Theseus, and tried to hurl 
him by main force over the cliff. But Theseus 
was a wary wrestler, and dropt his own club, and 
caught him by the throat and by the knee, and 
forced him back against the wall of stones, and 
crushed him up against them, till his breath was 
almost gone. And Sciron cried panting, " Loose 
me, and I will let thee pass.” But Theseus 
answered, " I must not pass till I have made the 
rough way smooth ” ; and he forced him back 
against the wall till it fell, and Sciron rolled head 
over heels. 

Then Theseus lifted him up all bruised, and 
said, " Come hither and wash my feet.” And he 
drew his sword, and sat down by the well, and 
said, "Wash my feet, or I cut you piecemeal.” 

And Sciron washed his feet trembling; and 
when it was done, Theseus rose, and cried, "As 
thou hast done to others, so shall it be done 
to thee. Go feed thy tortoise thyself”; and he 
kicked him over the cliff into the sea. 

And whether the tortoise ate him, I know 
not; for some say that earth and sea both dis- 
dained to take his body, so foul it was with sin. 
So the sea cast it out upon the shore, and the 
shore cast it back into the sea, and at last the 
[ ! 95 ] 


THE HEROES 


waves hurled it high into the air in anger; and 
it hung there long without a grave, till it was 
changed into a desolate rock, which stands there 
in the surge until this day. 

This at least is true, which Pausanias tells, 
that in the royal porch at Athens he saw the 
figure of Theseus modeled in clay, and by him 
Sciron the robber, falling headlong into the sea. 

Then he went a long day’s journey, past 
Megara, into the Attic land, and high before 
him rose the snow peaks of Cithaeron, all cold 
above the black pine-woods, where haunt the 
Furies, and the raving Bacchae, and the Nymphs 
who drive men wild, far aloft upon the dreary 
mountains, wherg the storms howl all day long. 
And on his right hand was the sea always, and 
Salamis, with its island cliffs, and the sacred 
strait of the sea fight, where afterwards the Per- 
sians fled before the Greeks. So he went all 
day until the evening, till he saw the Thriasian 
plain, and the sacred city of Eleusis, where the 
Earth-mother’s temple stands. For there she 
met Triptolemus, when all the land lay waste, 
Demeter the kind Earth-mother, and in her 
* hands a sheaf of corn. And she taught him to 
plough the fallows, and to yoke the lazy kine; 

[196] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

and she taught him to sow the seed-fields, and 
to reap the golden grain; and sent him forth 
to teach all nations, and give corn to laboring 
men. So at Eleusis all men honor her, whoso- 
ever tills the land ; her and Triptolemus her 
beloved, who gave corn to laboring men. 

And he went along the plain into Eleusis, and 
stood in the market place, and cried, " Where is 
Cercyon, the king of the city? I must wrestle 
a fall with him to-day.” 

Then all the people crowded round him, and 
cried, " Fair youth, why will you die ? Hasten 
out of the city, before the cruel king hears that 
a stranger is here.” 

But Theseus went up through the town, while 
the people wept and prayed, and through the 
gates of the palace yard, and through the piles 
of bones and skulls, till he came to the door of 
Cercyon’s hall, the terror of all mortal men. 

And there he saw Cercyon sitting at the table 
in the hall alone ; and before him was a whole 
sheep roasted, and beside him a whole jar of wine. 
And Theseus stood and called him, " Holla, thou 
valiant wrestler, wilt thou wrestle a fall to-day ? ” 

And Cercyon looked up and laughed, and 
answered, " I will wrestle a fall to-day : but 
[i97] 


THE HEROES 


come in, for I am lonely and thou weary, and 
eat and drink before thou die.” 

Then Theseus went up boldly, and sat down 
before Cercyon at the board ; and he ate his fill 
of the sheep’s flesh, and drank his fill of the 
wine ; and Theseus ate enough for three men, 
but Cercyon ate enough for seven. 

But neither spoke a word to the other, though 
they looked across the table by stealth ; and each 
said in his heart, " He has broad shoulders; but 
I trust mine are as broad as his.” 

At last, when the sheep was eaten, and the 
jar of wine drained dry, King Cercyon rose, and 
cried, " Let us wrestle a fall before we sleep.” 

So they tossed off all their garments, and went 
forth into the palace yard ; and Cercyon bade 
strew fresh sand in an open space between the 
bones. And there the heroes stood face to face, 
while their eyes glared like wild bulls’; and all 
the people crowded at the gates, to see what 
would befall. 

And there they stood and wrestled, till the 
stars shone out above their heads; up and down 
and round, till the sand was stamped hard be- 
neath their feet. And their eyes flashed like 
stars in the darkness, and their breath went up 
[198] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

like smoke in the night air; but neither took 
nor gave a footstep, and the people watched 
silent at the gates. 

But at last Cercyon grew angry, and caught 
Theseus round the neck, and shook him as a 
mastiff shakes a rat ; but he could not shake 
him off his feet. 

But Theseus was quick and wary, and clasped 
Cercyon round the waist, and slipped his loin 
quickly underneath him, while he caught him 
by the wrist; and then he hove a mighty heave, 
a heave which would have stirred an oak, and 
lifted Cercyon, and pitched him, right over his 
shoulder on the ground. 

Then he leapt on him, and called, " Yield, or 
I kill thee ! ” but Cercyon said no word ; for his 
heart was burst within him, with the fall, and 
the meat, and the wine. 

Then Theseus opened the gates, and called 
in all the people; and they cried, "You have 
slain our evil king; be you now our king, and 
rule us well.” 

" I will be your king in Eleusis, and I will 
rule you right and well: for this cause I have 
slain all evildoers, Sinis, and Sciron, and this 
man last of all.” 


[ 199 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then an aged man stepped forth, and said, 
" Young hero, hast thou slain Sinis ? Beware 
then of ^Egeus, king of Athens, to whom thou 
goest, for he is near of kin to Sinis.” 

" Then I have slain my own kinsman,” said 
Theseus, " though well he deserved to die. Who 
will purge me from his death, for rightfully I 
slew him, unrighteous and accursed as he was ? ” 
And the old man answered, " That will the 
heroes do, the sons of Phytalus, who dwell be- 
neath the elm tree in Aphidnae, by the bank of 
silver Cephissus ; for they know the mysteries 
of the Gods. Thither you shall go and be puri- 
fied, and after you shall be our king.” 

So he took an oath of the people of Eleusis, 
that they would serve him as their king, and 
went away next morning across the Thriasian 
plain, and over the hills toward Aphidnae, that 
he might find the sons of Phytalus. 

And as he was skirting the Vale of Cephissus, 
along the foot of lofty Parnes, a very tall and 
strong man came down to meet him, dressed in 
rich garments. On his arms were golden brace- 
lets, and round his neck a collar of jewels ; and 
he came forward, bowing courteously, and held 
out both his hands, and spoke, " Welcome, fair 
[ 200 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

youth, to these mountains ; happy am I to have 
met you ! For what greater pleasure to a good 
man, than to entertain strangers ? But I see 
that you are weary. Come up to my castle, and 
rest yourself awhile.” 

" I give you thanks,” said Theseus ; " but I 
am in haste to go up the valley, and to reach 
Aphidnae, in the Vale of Cephissus.” 

" Alas ! you have wandered far from the right 
way, and you cannot reach Aphidnae to-night; 
for there are many miles of mountain between 
you and it, and steep passes, and cliffs dangerous 
after nightfall. It is well for you that I met you ; 
for my whole joy is to find strangers, and to feast 
them at my castle, and hear tales from them of 
foreign lands. Come up with me, and eat the best 
of venison, and drink the rich red wine ; and 
sleep upon my famous bed, of which all travelers 
say that they never saw the like. For whatso- 
ever the stature of my guest, however tall or 
short, that bed fits him to a hair, and he sleeps 
on it as he never slept before.” And he laid hold 
on Theseus’ hands, and would not let him go. 

Theseus wished to go forwards: but he was 
ashamed to seem churlish to so hospitable a 
man ; and he was curious to see that wondrous 
[201 ] 


THE HEROES 


bed; and beside, he was hungry and weary: yet 
he shrank from the man, he knew not why: for 
though his voice was gentle and fawning, it was 
dry and husky like a toad’s ; and though his eyes 
were gentle, they were dull and cold like stones. 
But he consented, and went with the man up a 
glen which led from the road toward the peaks 
of Parnes, under the dark shadow of the cliffs. 

And as they went up, the glen grew nar- 
rower, and the cliffs higher and darker, and be- 
neath them a torrent roared, half seen between 
bare limestone crags. And around them was 
neither tree nor bush, while from the white 
peaks of Parnes the snow blasts swept down 
the glen, cutting and chilling, till a horror fell 
on Theseus, as he looked round at that doleful 
place. And he asked at last, " Your castle stands, 
it seems, in a dreary region.” 

"Yes, but once within it, hospitality makes 
all things cheerful. But who are these ? ” and 
he looked back, and Theseus also; and far be- 
low, along the road which they had left, came 
a string of laden asses, and merchants walking 
by them, watching their ware. 

" Ah, poor souls ! ” said the stranger ; " well 
for them that I looked back and saw them ! 

[ 202 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

And well for me too, for I shall have the more 
guests at my feast. Wait awhile till I go down 
and call them, and we will eat and drink to- 
gether the livelong night. Happy am I, to whom 
Heaven sends so many guests at once ! ” 

And he ran back down the hill, waving his 
hand and shouting to the merchants, while 
Theseus went slowly up the steep pass. 

But as he went up he met an aged man, who 
had been gathering driftwood in the torrent bed. 
He had laid down his fagot in the road, and was 
trying to lift it again to his shoulder. And when 
he saw Theseus, he called to him, and said, 
" O fair youth, help me up with my burden ; for 
my limbs are stiff and weak with years.” 

Then Theseus lifted the burden on his back. 
And the old man blest him, and then looked ear- 
nestly upon him, and said, " Who are you, fair youth, 
and wherefore travel you this doleful road ? ” 

" Who I am my parents know : but I travel 
this doleful road because I have been invited 
by a hospitable man, who promises to feast me, 
and to make me sleep upon I know npt what 
wondrous bed.” 

Then the old man clapped his hands together, 
and cried, ”0 house of Hades, man-devouring! 

[203] 


THE HEROES 


will thy maw never be full? Know, fair youth, 
that you are going to torment and to death; for 
he who met you (I will requite your kindness 
by another) is a robber and a murderer of men. 
Whatsoever stranger he meets he entices him 
hither to death; and as for this bed of which 
he speaks, truly it fits all comers, yet none ever 
rose alive off it save me.” 

" Why ? ” asked Theseus, astonished. 

" Because, if a man be too tall for it, he lops 
his limbs till they be short enough, and if he be 
too short, he stretches his limbs till they be long 
enough: but me only he spared, seven weary 
years agone; for I alone of all fitted his bed 
exactly ; so he spared me, and made me his 
slave. And once I was a wealthy merchant, 
and dwelt in brazen-gated Thebes; but now I 
hew wood and draw water for him, the torment 
of all mortal men.” 

Then Theseus said nothing; but he ground 
his teeth together. 

" Escape then,” said the old man, " for he will 
have np pity on thy youth. But yesterday he 
brought up hither a young man and a maiden, and 
fitted them upon his bed: and the young man’s 
hands and feet he cut off; but the maiden’s 
[ 204] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

limbs he stretched until she died, and so 
both perished miserably — but I am tired of 
weeping over the slain. And therefore he 
is called Procrustes the stretcher, though his 
father called him Damastes. Flee from him : 
yet whither will you flee? The cliffs are steep, 
and who can climb them ? and there is no other 
road.” 

But Theseus laid his hand upon the old man’s 
mouth, and said, " There is no need to flee ” ; and 
he turned to go down the pass. 

" Do not tell him that I have warned you, 
or he will kill me by some evil death ” ; and 
the old man screamed after him down the glen: 
but Theseus strode on in his wrath. 

And he said to himself, " This is an ill-ruled 
land ; when shall I have done ridding it of 
monsters ? ” And as he spoke, Procrustes came 
up the hill, and all the merchants with him, 
smiling and talking gayly. And when he saw 
Theseus, he cried, "Ah, fair young guest, have 
I kept you too long waiting ? ” 

But Theseus answered, "The man who stretches 
his guests upon a bed, and hews off their hands 
and feet, what shall be done to him, when right 
is done throughout the land ? ” 

[205 ] 


THE HEROES 


Then Procrustes’ countenance changed, and 
his cheeks grew as green as a lizard, and he felt 
for his sword in haste ; but Theseus leapt on him, 
and cried, " Is this true, my host, or is it false?” 
and he clasped Procrustes round waist and elbow, 
so that he could not draw his sword. 

" Is this true, my host, or is it false?” But 
Procrustes answered never a word. 

Then Theseus flung him from him, and lifted 
up his dreadful club ; and before Procrustes could 
strike him he had struck, and felled him to the 
ground. 

And once again he struck him ; and his evil 
soul fled forth, and went down to Hades squeak- 
ing, like a bat into the darkness of a cave. 

Then Theseus stript him of his gold orna- 
ments, and went up to his house, and found 
there great wealth and treasure, which he had 
stolen from the passers by. And he called the 
people of the country, whom Procrustes had 
spoiled a long time, and parted the spoil among 
them, and went down the mountains, and away. 

And he went down the glens of Parnes, through 
mist, and cloud, and rain, down the slopes of oak, 
and lentisk, and arbutus, and fragrant bay, till he 
came to the Vale of Cephissus, and the pleasant 
[206] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

town of Aphidnae, and the home of the Phytalid 
heroes, where they dwelt beneath a mighty elm. 

And there they built an altar, and bade him 
bathe in Cephissus, and offer a yearling ram, 
and purified him from the blood of Sinis, and 
sent him away in peace. 

And he went down the valley by Acharnae, 
and by the silver-swirling stream, while all the 
people blessed him ; for the fame of his prowess 
had spread wide, till he saw the plain of Athens, 
and the hill where Athene dwells. 

So Theseus went up through Athens, and all 
the people ran out to see him ; for his fame had 
gone before him, and every one knew of his 
mighty deeds. And all cried, " Here comes the 
hero, who slew Sinis, and Phaea the wild sow of 
Crommyon, and conquered Cercyon in wrestling, 
and slew Procrustes the pitiless.” But Theseus 
went on sadly and steadfastly, for his heart 
yearned after his father; and he said, " How 
shall I deliver him from these leeches who suck 
his blood ? ” 

So he went up the holy stairs, and into the 
Acropolis, where Aegeus’ palace stood ; and he 
went straight into Aegeus’ hall, and stood upon 
the threshold, and looked round. 

[20;] 


THE HEROES 


And there he saw his cousins sitting about 
the table, at the wine ; many a son of Pallas, 
but no ALgeus among them. There they sat 
and feasted, and laughed, and passed the wine 
cup round ; while harpers harped, and slave girls 
sang, and the tumblers showed their tricks. 

Loud laughed the sons of Pallas, and fast 
went the wine cup round ; but Theseus frowned, 
and said under his breath, "No wonder that the 
land is full of robbers, while such as these bear 
rule.” 

Then the Pallantids saw him, and called to 
him, half drunk with wine, " Holla, tall stranger 
at the door, what is your will to-day ? ” 

" I come hither to ask for hospitality.” 

" Then take it, and welcome. You look like 
a hero and a bold warrior, and we like such to 
drink with us.” 

" I ask no hospitality of you ; I ask it of 
Aigeus the king, the master of this house.” 

At that some growled, and some laughed, and 
shouted, " Heyday ! we are all masters here.” 

" Then I am master as much as the rest of 
you,” said Theseus ; and he strode past the table 
up the hall, and looked around for ^Egeus, but 
he was nowhere to be seen. 

[ 208 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

The Pallantids looked at him, and then at 
each other; and each whispered to the man 
next him, " This is a forward fellow ; he ought 
to be thrust out at the door.” But each man’s 
neighbor whispered in return, " His shoulders 
are broad ; will you rise and put him out ? ” So 
they all sat still where they were. 

Then Theseus called to the servants, and said, 
" Go tell King ^Egeus your master that The- 
seus of Trcezene is here, and asks to be his 
guest awhile.” 

A servant ran and told yEgeus, where he sat 
in his chamber within, by Medea the dark witch- 
woman, watching her eye and hand. And when 
Aigeus heard of Trcezene, he turned pale and 
red again ; and rose from his seat trembling, 
while Medea watched him like a snake. 

“ What is T rcezene to you ? ” she asked. But 
he said hastily, " Do you not know who this 
Theseus is ? The hero who has cleared the 
country from all monsters : but that he came 
from Trcezene, I never heard before. I must 
go out and welcome him.” 

So Aigeus came out into the hall ; and when 
Theseus saw him, his heart leapt into his mouth, 
and he longed to fall on his neck and welcome 
[209] 


THE HEROES 


him ; but he controlled himself, and said, " My 
father may not wish for me, after all. I will try 
him before I discover myself”; and he bowed 
low before ASgeus, and said, " I have delivered 
the king’s realm from many monsters ; therefore 
I am come to ask a reward of the king.” 

And old Aigeus looked on him, and loved 
him, as what fond heart would not have done ? 
But he only sighed, and said, "It is little that 
I can give you, noble lad, and nothing that is 
worthy of you ; for surely you are no mortal 
man, or at least no mortal’s son.” 

"All that I ask,” said Theseus, "is to eat and 
drink at your table.” 

" That I can give you,” said Aigeus, " if at 
least I am master in my own hall.” 

Then he bade them put a seat for Theseus, 
and set before him the best of the feast; and 
Theseus sat and ate so much that all the com- 
pany wondered at him: but always he kept his 
club by his side. 

But Medea, the dark witch-woman, had been 
watching him all the while. She saw how Aigeus 
turned red and pale when the lad said that he 
came from Troezene. She saw, too, how his heart 
was opened toward Theseus ; and how Theseus 
[210] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

bore himself before all the sons of Pallas like a 
lion among a pack of curs. And she said to her- 
self, " This youth will be master here ; perhaps 
he is nearer to JEgeus already than mere fancy. 
At least the Pallantids will have no chance by 
the side of such as he.” 

Then she went back into her chamber mod- 
estly, while Theseus ate and drank ; and all the 
servants whispered, " This, then, is the man who 
killed the monsters ! How noble are his looks, 
and how huge his size ! Ah, would that he were 
our master’s son ! ” 

But presently Medea came forth, decked in 
all her jewels, and her rich Eastern robes, and 
looking more beautiful than the day; so that all 
the guests . could look at nothing else. And in 
her right hand she held a golden cup, and in her 
left a flask of gold ; and she came up to The- 
seus, and spoke, in a sweet, soft, winning voice, 
" Hail to the hero, the conqueror, the uncon- 
quered, the destroyer of all evil things ! Drink, 
hero, of my charmed cup, which gives rest after 
every toil, which heals all wounds, and pours new 
life into the veins. Drink of my cup, for in it 
sparkles the wine of the East, and Nepenthe, the 
comfort of the Immortals.” 

[ 2 I I ] 


THE HEROES 


And as she spoke, she poured the flask into the 
cup ; and the fragrance of the wine spread through 
the hall, like the scent of thyme and roses. 

And Theseus looked up in her fair face, and 
into her deep dark eyes. And as he looked, he 
shrank and shuddered ; for they were dry like the 
eyes of a snake. And he rose, and said, "The 
wine is rich and fragrant, and the wine bearer 
as fair as the Immortals ; but let her pledge 
me first herself in the cup, that the wine may 
be the sweeter from her lips.” 

Then Medea turned pale, and stammered, 
" Forgive me, fair hero ; but I am ill, and dare 
drink no wine.” 

And Theseus looked again into her eyes, and 
cried, "Thou shalt pledge me in that cup, or 
die.” And he lifted up his brazen club, while 
all the guests looked on aghast. 

Medea shrieked a fearful shriek, and dashed 
the cup to the ground, and fled ; and where the 
wine flowed over the marble pavement the stone 
bubbled, and crumbled, and hissed, under the 
fierce venom of the draught. 

But Medea called her dragon chariot, and 
sprang into it and fled aloft, away over land 
and sea ; and no man saw her more. 

[ 212 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

And Aigeus cried, " What hast thou done ? ” 
But Theseus pointed to the stone, " I have rid 
the land of an enchantment : now I will rid it 
of one more.” 

And he came close to Aegeus, and drew from 
his bosom the sword and the sandals, and said 
the words which his mother bade him. 

And Aigeus stepped back a pace, and looked 
at the lad till his eyes grew dim ; and then he 
cast himself on his neck, and wept, and Theseus 
wept on his neck, till they had no strength left 
to weep more. 

Then Aegeus turned to all the people, and 
cried, " Behold my son, children of Cecrops, a 
better man than his father was before him.” 

Who then were mad but the Pallantids, though 
they had been mad enough before ? And one 
shouted, " Shall we make room for an upstart, a 
pretender, who comes from we know not where ? ” 
And another, " If he be one, we are more than 
one ; and the stronger can hold his own.” And 
one shouted one thing, and one another ; for 
they were hot and wild with wine : but all caught 
swords and lances off the wall, where the weap- 
ons hung around, and sprang forward to Theseus, 
and Theseus sprang forward to them. 

[ 2 1 3 ] 


THE HEROES 


And he cried, " Go in peace, if you will, my 
cousins; but if not, your blood be on your own 
heads.” But they rushed at him ; and then 
stopped short, and railed him, as curs stop and 
bark when they rouse a lion from his lair. 

But one hurled a lance from the rear rank, 
which past close by Theseus’ head; and at that 
Theseus rushed forward, and the fight began in- 
deed. Twenty against one they fought, and yet 
Theseus beat them all ; and those who were left 
fled down into the town, where the people set on 
them and drove them out, till Theseus was left 
alone in the palace, with ^Egeus his new-found 
father. But before nightfall all the town came 
up, with victims, and dances, and songs; and 
they offered sacrifices to Athene, and rejoiced 
all the night long, because their king had found 
a noble son, and an heir to his royal house. 

So Theseus stayed with his father all the win- 
ter; and when the spring equinox drew near, all 
the Athenians grew sad and silent ; and Theseus 
saw it, and asked the reason ; but no one would 
answer him a word. 

Then he went to his father, and asked him: 
but >Egeus turned away his face and wept. 

"Do not ask, my son, beforehand, about evils 

C 2 1 4 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

which must happen : it is enough to have to face 
them when they come.” 

And when the spring equinox came, a herald 
came to Athens, and stood in the market, and 
cried, "O people and King of Athens, where is 
your yearly tribute ? ” Then a great lamentation 
arose throughout the city. 

But Theseus stood up to the herald, and 
cried, "And who are you, dog-faced, who dare 
demand tribute here? If I did not reverence 
your herald’s staff, I would brain you with 
this club.” 

And the herald answered proudly, for he was 
a grave and ancient man, " Fair youth, I am not 
dog-faced or shameless; but I do my master’s 
bidding, Minos the King of hundred-citied Crete, 
the wisest of all kings on earth. And you must 
be surely a stranger here, or you would know 
why I come, and that I come by right.” 

" I am a stranger here. Tell me, then, why 
you come.” 

" To fetch the tribute which King /Egeus 
promised to Minos, and confirmed his promise 
with an oath. For Minos conquered all this land, 
and Megara which lies to the east, when he came 
hither with a great fleet of ships, enraged about 

[215 ] 


THE HEROES 


the murder of his son. For his son Androgeos 
came hither to the Panathenaic games, and over- 
came all the Greeks in the sports, so that the 
people honored him as a hero. But when ^geus 
saw his valor, he envied him, and feared lest he 
| should join the sons of Pallas, and take away 
‘the scepter from him. So he plotted against his 
life, and slew him basely, no man knows how or 
where. Some say that he waylaid him by CEnoe, 
on the road which goes to Thebes; and some 
that he sent him against the bull of Marathon, 
that the beast might kill him. But Atgeus 
says that the young men killed him from envy, 
because he had conquered them in the games. So 
Minos came hither and avenged him, and would 
not depart till this land had promised him tribute, 
seven youths and seven maidens every year, who 
go with me in a black-sailed ship, till they come 
to hundred-citied Crete.” 

And Theseus ground his teeth together, and 
said, "Wert thou not a herald I would kill thee, 
for saying such things of my father: but I will 
go to him, and know the truth.” So he went to 
his father, and asked him ; but he turned away 
his head and wept, and said, " Blood was shed in 
the land unjustly, and by blood it is avenged. 

[216] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

Break not my heart by questions; it is enough 
to endure in silence.” 

Then Theseus groaned inwardly, and said, " I 
will go myself with these youths and maidens, 
and kill Minos upon his royal throne.” 

But /Egeus shrieked, and cried, "You shall 
not go, my son, the light of my old age, to whom 
alone I look to rule this people, after I am dead 
and gone. You shall not go, to die horribly, as 
those youths and maidens die; for Minos thrusts 
them into a labyrinth, which Daedalus made for 
him among the rocks, Daedalus the renegade, the 
accursed, the pest of this his native land. From 
that labyrinth no one can escape, entangled in 
its winding ways, before they meet the Minotaur, 
the monster who feeds upon the flesh of men. 
There he devours them horribly, and they never 
see this land again.” 

Then Theseus grew red, and his ears tingled, 
and his heart beat loud in his bosom. And he 
stood awhile like a tall stone pillar, on the cliffs 
above some hero’s grave; and at last he spoke, 
"Therefore all the more I will go with them, 
and slay the accursed beast. Have I not slain 
all evildoers and monsters, that I might free this 
land? Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and 
[ 2I 7 ] 



THE HEROES 


Cercyon, and Phaea the wild sow? Where are 
the fifty sons of Pallas? And this Minotaur 
shall go on the road which they have gone, and 
Minos himself, if he dare stay me.” 

" But how will you slay him, my son ? For 
you must leave your club and your armor behind, 
and be cast to the monster, defenceless and naked 
like the rest.” 

And Theseus said, "Are there no stones in 
that labyrinth; and have I not fists and teeth? 
Did I need my club to kill Cercyon, the terror 
of all mortal men ? ” 

Then /Egeus clung to his knees ; but he would 
not hear; and at last he let him go, weeping 
bitterly, and said only this one word, " Promise 
me but this, if you return in peace, though that 
may hardly be : take down the black sail of the 
ship (for I shall watch for it all day upon the 
cliffs), and hoist instead a white sail, that I may 
know afar off that you are safe.” 

And Theseus promised, and went out, and to 
the market place where the herald stood, while 
they drew lots for the youths and maidens, who 
were to sail in that doleful crew. And the people 
stood wailing and weeping, as the lot fell on this 
one and on that: but Theseus strode into the 
[ 218 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 


midst, and cried, " Here is a youth who needs 
no lot. I myself will be one of the seven.” 

And the herald asked in wonder, " Fair youth, 
know you whither you are going ? ” 

And Theseus said, " I know. Let us go down 
to the black-sailed ship.” 

So they went down to the black-sailed ship, 
seven maidens, and seven youths, and Theseus 
before them all, and the people following them 
lamenting. But Theseus whispered to his com- 
panions, " Have hope, for the monster is not 
immortal. Where are Periphetes, and Sinis, and 
Sciron, and all whom I have slain ? ” Then 
their hearts were comforted a little: but they 
wept as they went on board, and the cliffs of 
Sunium rang, and all the isles of the Aegean 
Sea, with the voice of their lamentation, as they 
sailed on toward their deaths in Crete. 


[ 2I 9 ] 


PART III 


HOW THESEUS SLEW THE MINOTAUR 



MX 


ND at last they came to Crete, and to 


Cnossus, beneath the peaks of Ida, and 
to the palace of Minos the great king, 
to whom Zeus himself taught laws. So he was 
the wisest of all mortal kings, and conquered all 
the ZEgean isles; and his ships were as many 
as the sea gulls, and his palace like a marble 
hill. And he sat among the pillars of the hall, 
upon his throne of beaten gold, and around him 
stood the speaking statues which Daedalus had 
made by his skill. For Daedalus was the most 
cunning of all Athenians, and he first invented 
the plumb line, and the auger, and glue, and 
many a tool with which wood is wrought. And 
he first set up masts in ships, and yards, and 
his son made sails for them: but Perdix his 
nephew excelled him; for he first invented the 
[ 220 ] 



THE STORY OF THESEUS 

saw and its teeth, copying it from the backbone 
of a fish; and invented, too, the chisel, and the 
compasses, and the potter’s wheel which moulds 
the clay. Therefore Daedalus envied him, and 
hurled him headlong from the temple of Athene : 
but the Goddess pitied him (for she loves the 
wise), and changed him into a partridge, which 
flits forever about the hills. And Daedalus fled 
to Crete, to Minos, and worked for him many 
a year, till he did a shameful deed, at which the 
sun hid his face on high. 

Then he fled from the anger of Minos, he and 
Icarus his son having made themselves wings of 
feathers, and fixed the feathers with wax. So 
they flew over the sea toward Sicily; but Icarus 
flew too near the sun ; and the wax of his wings 
was melted, and he fell into the Icarian Sea. But 
Daedalus came safe to Sicily, and there wrought 
many a wondrous work; for he made for King 
Cocalus a reservoir, from which a great river 
watered all the land, and a castle and a treasury 
on a mountain, which the giants themselves could 
not have stormed ; and in Selinus he took the 
steam which comes up from the fires of Aitna, 
and made of it a warm bath of vapor, to cure the 
pains of mortal men ; and he made a honeycomb 
[221 ] 


THE HEROES 


of gold, in which the bees came and stored their 
honey, and in Egypt he made the forecourt of 
the temple of Hephaestus in Memphis, and a 
statue of himself within it, and many another 
wondrous work. And for Minos he made statues 
which spoke and moved, and the temple of Brito- 
martis, and the dancing hall of Ariadne, which he 
carved of fair white stone. And in Sardinia he 
worked for Iolaus, and in many a land beside, 
wandering up and down forever with his cunning, 
unlovely and accursed by men. 

But Theseus stood before Minos, and they 
looked each other in the face. And Minos bade 
take them to prison, and cast them to the mon- 
ster one by one, that the death of Androgeos 
might be avenged. 

Then Theseus cried, "A boon, O Minos! 
Let me be thrown first to the beast. For I 
came hither for that very purpose, of my own 
will, and not by lot.” 

" Who art thou, then, brave youth ? ” 

" I am the son of him whom of all men thou 
hatest most, Aigeus the king of Athens, and I 
am come here to end this matter.” 

And Minos pondered awhile, looking stead- 
fastly at him, and he thought, " The lad means 
[ 222 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

to atone by his own death for his father’s sin”; 
and he answered at last mildly, " Go back in 
peace, my son. It is a pity that one so brave 
should die.” 

But Theseus said, " I have sworn that I will 
not go back till I have seen the monster face 
to face.” 

And at that Minos frowned, and said, " Then 
thou shalt see him ; take the madman away.” 

And they led Theseus away into the prison, 
with the other youths and maids. 

But Ariadne, Minos’ daughter, saw him, as 
she came out of her white stone hall ; and she 
loved him for his courage and his majesty, and 
said, " Shame that such a youth should die ! ” 
And by night she went down to the prison, and 
told him all her heart ; and said, " Flee down to 
your ship at once, for I have bribed the guards 
before the door. Flee, you and all your friends, 
and go back in peace to Greece; and take me, 
take me with you ! for I dare not stay after you 
are gone; for my father will kill me miserably, 
if he knows what I have done.” 

And Theseus stood silent awhile; for he was 
astonished and confounded by her beauty: but 
at last he said, " I cannot go home in peace, till 
[223] 


THE HEROES 


I have seen and slain this Minotaur, and avenged 
the deaths of the youths and maidens, and put an 
end to the terrors of my land.” 

" And will you kill the Minotaur ? How, then ? ” 
" I know not, nor do I care: but he must be 
strong if he be too strong for me.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said, 
" But when you have killed him, how will you 
find your way out of the labyrinth ? ” 

" I know not, neither do I care : but it must 
be a strange road, if I do not find it out before 
I have eaten up the monster’s carcass.” 

Then she loved him all the more, and said, 
" Fair youth, you are too bold ; but I can help 
you, weak as I am. I will give you a sword, 
and with that, perhaps, you may slay the beast; 
and a clue of thread, and by that, perhaps, you 
may find your way out again. Only promise me, 
that if you escape safe, you will take me home 
with you to Greece ; for my father will surely 
kill me, if he knows what I have done.” 

Then Theseus laughed, and said, " Am I not 
safe enough now?” And he hid the sword in 
his bosom, and rolled up the clue in his hand ; 
and then he swore to Ariadne, and fell down 
before her, and kissed her hands and her feet; 

[224] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 

and she wept over him a long while, and then 
went away ; and Theseus lay down and slept 
sweetly. 

And when the evening came, the guards came 
in and led him away to the labyrinth. 

And he went down into that doleful gulf, 
through winding paths among the rocks, under 
caverns, and arches, and galleries, and over heaps 
of fallen stone. And he turned on the left hand, 
and on the right hand, and went up and down, 
till his head was dizzy ; but all the while he held 
his clue. For when he went in he had fastened 
it to a stone, and left it to unroll out of his hand 
as he went on ; and it lasted him till he met the 
Minotaur, in a narrow chasm between black cliffs. 

And when he saw him he stopped awhile, for 
he had never seen so strange a beast. His body 
was a man’s: but his head was the head of a 
bull ; and his teeth were the teeth of a lion ; 
and with them he tore his prey. And when he 
saw Theseus he roared, and put his head down, 
and rushed right at him. 

But Theseus stepped aside nimbly, and as he 
passed by, cut him in the knee ; and ere he could 
turn in the narrow path, he followed him, and 
stabbed him again and again from behind, till 
[225 ] 


THE HEROES 


the monster fled bellowing wildly; for he had 
never before felt a wound. And Theseus fol- 
lowed , him at full speed, holding the clue of 
thread in his left hand. 

Then on, through cavern after cavern, under 
dark ribs of sounding stone, and up rough glens 
and torrent beds, among the sunless roots of Ida, 
and to the edge of the eternal snow, went they, 
the hunter and the hunted, while the hills bel- 
lowed to the monster’s bellow. 

And at last Theseus came up with him, 
where he lay panting on a slab among the 
snow, and caught him by the horns, and forced 
his head back, and drove the keen sword through 
his throat. 

Then he turned, and went back limping and 
weary, feeling his way down by the clue of 
thread, till he came to the mouth of that dole- 
ful place ; and saw waiting for him, whom but 
Ariadne ! 

And he whispered, " It is done!” and showed 
her the sword ; and she laid her finger on her 
lips, and led him to the prison, and opened the 
doors, and set all the prisoners free, while the 
guards lay sleeping heavily ; for she had silenced 
them with wine. 


[226] 



THE HEROES 


Then they fled to their ship together, and 
leapt on board, and hoisted up the sail ; and the 
night lay dark around them, so that they past 
through Minos’ ships, and escaped all safe to 
Naxos; and there Ariadne became Theseus’ 
wife. 


[ 228] 



HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE 

“ |UT that fair Ariadne never came to Athens 

B \ with her husband. Some say that Theseus 
' left her sleeping on Naxos among the Cyc- 
lades; and that Dionysus the wine king found 
her, and took her up into the sky, as you shall 
see some day in a painting of old Titian’s, one 
of the most glorious pictures upon earth. And 
some say that Dionysus drove away Theseus, 
and took Ariadne from him by force : but how- 
ever that may be, in his haste or in his grief, 
Theseus forgot to put up the white sail. Now 
Aegeus his father sat and watched on Sunium 
day after day, and strained his old eyes across 
the sea, to see the ship afar. And when he saw 
the black sail, and not the white one, he gave 
up Theseus for dead, and in his grief he fell 
into the sea, and died ; so it is called the Aigean 
to this day. 


[229] 


THE HEROES 


And now Theseus was king of Athens, and 
he guarded it and ruled it well. 

For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had 
killed Androgeos, Minos’ son; and he drove back 
the famous Amazons, the warlike women of the 
East, when they came from Asia, and conquered 
all Hellas, and broke into Athens itself. But 
Theseus stopped them there, and conquered 
them, and took Hippolyte their queen to be 
his wife. Then he went out to fight against the 
Lapithae, and Pirithous their famous king: but 
when the two heroes came face to face they 
loved each other, and embraced, and became 
noble friends ; so that the friendship of Theseus 
and Pirithous is a proverb even now. And he 
gathered (so the Athenians say) all the boroughs 
of the land together, and knit them into one 
strong people, while before they were all parted 
and weak: and many another wise thing he did, 
so that his people honored him after he was dead, 
for many a hundred years, as the father of their 
freedom and their laws. And six hundred years 
after his death, in the famous fight at Marathon, 
men said that they saw the ghost of Theseus, 
with his mighty brazen club, fighting in the van 
of battle against the invading Persians, for the 
[230] 




THE HEROES 


country which he loved. And twenty years after 
Marathon, his bones (they say) were found in 
Scyros, an isle beyond the sea; and they were 
bigger than the bones of mortal man. So tTie 
Athenians brought them home in triumph ; and 
all the people came out to welcome them; and 
they built over them a noble temple, and adorned 
it with sculptures and paintings, in which were 
told all the noble deeds of Theseus, and the 
Centaurs, and the Lapithae, and the Amazons; 
and the ruins of it are standing still. 

But why did they find his bones in Scyros? 
Why did he not die in peace at Athens, and 
sleep by his father’s side? Because, after his 
triumph he grew proud, and broke the laws of 
God and man. And one thing worst of all he 
did, which brought him to his grave with sor- 
row. For he went down (they say beneath the 
earth) with that bold Pirithous his friend, to help 
him to carry off Persephone, the queen of the 
world below. But Pirithous was killed miserably, 
in the dark fire kingdoms under ground; and 
Theseus was chained to a rock in everlasting 
pain. And there he sat for years, till Heracles 
the mighty came down to bring up the three- 
headed dog who sits at Pluto’s gate. So Heracles 
[232 ] 


THE STORY OF THESEUS 


loosed him from his chain, and brought him up 
to the light once more. 

But when he came back his people had for- 
gotten him, and Castor and Polydeuces, the sons 
of the wondrous Swan, had invaded his land, 
and carried off his mother ^Ethra for a slave, in 
revenge for a grievous wrong. 

So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and 
another king ruled in it, who drove out Theseus 
shamefully, and he fled across the sea to Scyros. 
And there he lived in sadness, in the house of 
Lycomedes the king, till Lycomedes killed him 
by treachery, and there was an end of all his 
labors. 

So it is still, my children, and so it will be to 
the end. In those old Greeks, and in us also, all 
strength and virtue come from God. But if men 
grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God’s fair 
gifts, He lets them go their own ways, and fall 
pitifully, that the glory may be His alone. God 
help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to 
do noble deeds! but God keep pride from us 
when we have done them, lest we fall, and come 
to shame ! 


[233 ] 




NOTES 


Page xii. Rhodes : this island of the /Egean Sea was once famous 
in ancient times as the center of art and oratory. For this and 
other geographical places see the maps on pages 236 and 237. 
For the pronunciation of names see the vocabulary at the end 
of the book. 

Page xiii. Kertch : the modern name of the ancient city Panti- 
capaeum (pan ti k a pe'um), situated on the Strait of Kertch, 
between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The ancient 
name of the strait was Cimmerian Bosporus (page 139). 

Sevastopol : a modern Russian seaport in the Crimea. The 
siege of this city was the chief event of the Crimean War. 

Page xv. Sagas: ancient Scandinavian legends, tales, or history. 

Eddas : two ancient collections of Scandinavian sagas in the 
Icelandic language, one in poetry, the other in prose. 

Voluspa : a poem in the older, poetic Edda. It treats of the 
creation and destruction of the world and the restoration and 
return of the gods in a new existence. 

Beowulf : an Anglo-Saxon epic poem recounting the exploits 
of the hero Beowulf. He slays a man-eating monster and rids 
his country of a dragon, from which he receives his death wound. 

THE STORY OF PERSEUS 

Page 3. Argos : a city in Argolis (ar'go Us), a country in the Pelo- 
ponnesus (southern Greece). 

Hellas : the Greek name for Greece. 

Page 4. Cyclopes : one-eyed giants. The giants who came to Argos 
and built the great walls at Tiryns and Mycenae were said to 
have come from Thrace; they are not to be confounded with 
the one-eyed giants of Sicily mentioned later. From " Cyclops ” 
is derived the adjective " Cyclopean ” (si klo pe'^n), meaning 
** gigantic,” " huge.” 


[ 2 35 ] 




4 



# 


[236] 


GREECE AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES 
















I 



t 


L 23 7 ] 


GREECE AND THE AEGEAN SEA 


THE HEROES 


Page 8. Seriphos : one of the group of the Cyclades Islands. It 
is now called Serpho (ser'fo). 

Page io. Zeus : the greatest of the gods of Olympus, commonly 
called " father of gods and men.” The Romans identified him 
with Jupiter. 

Page i i . Samos : an island off the coast of Asia Minor. 

Page i 2. Pallas Athene : the poetical name of Athene (or Athena), 
one of the greater deities of Olympus, and the tutelary goddess 
of Athens. She was the goddess of wisdom, having been born 
from the head of Zeus. She was wise in the industries of peace 
and the arts of war. The name Pallas appears to have arisen 
either from her worship in one of the districts of Attica (the ter- 
ritory of Athens) or from her slaying the giant Pallas. The 
Romans identified her with Minerva. 

Page 14. Titans: primeval deities, children of Uranus (u'ra nus) 
and Gaea (j e'a). "Uranus” is the Greek name for Sky, or 
Heaven ; " Gaea,” for Earth. The Titans were overthrown by 
Zeus, and most of them were banished to the lower world. The 
Titans appear to have been personifications of the great forces 
of nature, such as the lightning and thunderbolt, earthquakes, 
and eruptions of volcanoes. 

Page i 5. Gorgon : the Gorgons were three sisters. Medusa, once 
” a maiden as beautiful as morn ” (page 22), with beautiful hair, 
had dared to vie in beauty with Minerva. The goddess changed 
her into a terrible monster with ringlets of hissing serpents, the 
sight of which turned the beholder to stone. Medusa is often 
called simply the Gorgon. 

Page 22. Hyperboreans : " Hyperborean ” means " beyond the 
north wind.” The Hyperboreans were fabled by the Greeks 
to be a happy people living, in a land of perpetual sunshine 
and plenty (but see the note to page 140). 

Gray Sisters: the Greek name is Graeae (gre'e). See the 
headpiece on page 26. 

Page 23. Echidna : a monster half maiden and half serpent. 

Geryon : one of the labors of Hercules was to carry off 
Geryon’s red cattle. 


[238] 


NOTES 


Asgis-holder : Zeus is frequently so called. The aegis is his 
shield. In infancy, when his life was threatened, Zeus was con- 
cealed in the island of Crete and fed with the milk of the sacred 
goat Amalthea. 

Page 24. Hermes : an Olympian god and son of Zeus. He is best 
known as the herald and messenger of the gods, but he was also 
the protector of travelers, the guardian of roads and commerce, 
and the patron of gymnastic exercises and games. Furthermore, 
he was the god of eloquence, of science and invention, of cun- 
ning and theft, and was the conductor of the dead to Hades. 
He is called Argus-slayer from having slain Argus, the guardian 
with a hundred eyes employed by Hera (the wife of Zeus) to 
watch the maiden Io (fo), of whom she was jealous. Hermes, 
having charmed all the eyes of Argus to sleep, slew him and 
released Io. Hermes is usually represented with a traveling 
hat, a magic wand, and winged shoes. The Romans identified 
him with Mercury. 

Olympus : a mountain range of northern Greece (Thessaly), 
rising to a height of nine thousand eight hundred feet. The 
Greeks pictured it as the home of the gods. 

Page 25. Ister : this river is now called the Danube (dan'ub). 

Page 26. Cythnus . . . Ceos : two of the Cyclades Islands. 

Page 28. Giants: a savage race of huge stature and strength. 
When the Titan Cronus fought against his father Uranus (see 
the note on Titans, page 14) and wounded him, the blood 
dropped to the Earth (Gaea), and from these drops sprang the 
giants. They made war on Zeus and the other Olympians, but 
were defeated and slain. 

Page 29. Atlas: one of the Titans who warred against Zeus. 
For punishment he was compelled to support the heavens on 
his shoulders. As a reward for aiding Perseus he was turned 
to stone, and so found rest from his toil (page 38). 

Hesperides : these nymphs dwelt in the remote west, where 
with a dragon they kept watch over the garden in which grew 
the golden apples given by Earth (Gaea) to Hera as a present 
on the occasion of her marriage to Zeus. 

[239] 


THE HEROES 


Page 30. isle of the Hyperboreans : possibly Iceland is meant. 

tin isles : the Greek name was Cassiterides (kas 1 ter'I dez) ; 
probably the Scilly Islands, off the southwestern point of 
England. 

Iberian : " Iberia ” was the Greek name for Spain. 

Tritons : demigods of the sea, who attend on the sea gods. 
The lower part of their body was fishlike. They are represented 
with trumpets of conch shells, by blowing which they raise or 
calm the waves. 

Page 31. Evening Star: Hesperus (hes'pSr us). The Hesperides 
(see the note to page 29) are represented sometimes as daughters 
of Atlas and sometimes as daughters of Hesperus. 

Page 32. Heracles: this celebrated Greek hero is commonly 
known in English by the name the Romans gave him, " Her- 
cules.” Among the twelve great labors imposed on him was the 
robbery of the garden of the Hesperides (page 29). Atlas aided 
him in getting the golden apples. 

Page 33. Hades : originally the name of the grim god of the 
lower world ; then used, as here, to designate the lower world 
itself. 

Page 34. Hell : Hades, or the place of the dead. 

Page 36. Herpe : the Greek name for the scimitar that Perseus 
had received from Hermes (see page 21). The word is properly 
spelled " Harpe ” (har'pe). 

Page 39. Libyan : " Libya ” was the name given by the Greeks to 
northern Africa west of Egypt. 

Poseidon : brother of Zeus, and god of the sea. He could 
cause earthquakes, storms, and shipwrecks, or send favoring 
winds. He is represented with the three-pronged spear, or tri- 
dent. The Romans identified him with Neptune (nep'tun). 

Bosporus : the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of 
Marmora. The word means " ox ford.” The strait was so 
named from the legend that Io, transformed into a cow, swam 
across it. See the note on Hermes , page 24. 

Hellespont : the strait between the yEgean Sea and the Sea 
of Marmora ; now called the Dardanelles (dar da nelz'), from 

[ 240] 


NOTES 


the ancient city of Dardanus on the eastern side. The name 
Hellespont means " Helle’s Sea,” from Helle, who here was 
drowned while crossing the sea with her brother Phrixus on the 
back of the ram with the Golden Fleece. See pages 67 and 68. 

Lectonian : Trojan. Lecton (now called Cape Baba), a spur 
of Mount Ida, forms a promontory on the Trojan coast. This 
Mount Ida is in northwestern Asia Minor. There is another 
Mount Ida in the island of Crete. See page 226. 

Page 40. Psylli : an ancient people of northern Africa. 

Page 44. Eos: goddess of the dawn. The Romans called her 
Aurora (6 ro'r a). 

Page 45. Chemmis : a town on the Nile, in Upper Egypt; now 
called Akhmim (ak mem'). 

Page 46. Isthmus : Isthmus of Suez (soo ez'). 

Althiops : the ^Ethiopians dwelt in the remote south, on the 
shores of Ocean, which flowed round the earth. There were two 
tribes of them, one facing the rising sun, the other the setting sun. 

Serbonian bog: in ancient geography a morass east of the 
delta of the Nile. 

Lacedcsmon : an ancient name of Laconia (la ko'nl a) and 
sometimes of Sparta. 

Vale ofTempe : a valley in eastern Thessaly (northern Greece), 
celebrated from ancient times for its beauty. The Peneus River 
flows through it. 

Page 48. Iopa : the Greek form of the name of Joppa (jop 'a), an 
ancient seaport of Palestine, now called Jaffa (ya'fa or jaf 'a). 

Page 49. Atargatis : the chief goddess of the northern Syrians. 

Page 57. DeucaliorCs deluge: on account of the wickedness of 
man Zeus destroyed the world by a great deluge. Deucalion and 
Pyrrha (plr'#), a king and queen of Thessaly, were the only 
human beings to survive, they being saved because of their piety. 
For nine days they floated in a ship, which finally rested on 
Mount Parnassus (par nas'iis). Entering a temple to seek aid 
and guidance, they were bidden to go from the temple and with 
veiled heads restore mankind by casting the bones of their 
mother behind them. After pondering a long time they finally 

[241 ] 


THE HEROES 


conjectured that the " bones of their mother ” must mean the 
stones of mother earth, and threw stones behind them. Those 
thrown by Deucalion became men, and those thrown by his wife 
became women. 

Page 6i. Larissa: a town of Thessaly, on the Peneus River, in 
the Vale of Tempe. 

Pelasgi : one of the primitive peoples of Greece. 

Argives : the inhabitants of Argolis (see the note on Argos, 
page 3). The Argives played such an important part in the siege 
of Troy that after the Trojan War their name became a general 
name for all the Greeks. 

Hydrea : an island. 

Sunium : the promontory at the southeastern extremity of 
Attica. It is now called Cape Colonna (ko ISn'na). Here are the 
ruins of an ancient temple of Athena, a famous landmark from 
the sea. 

Marathon : the plain in Attica where the Greeks defeated the 
Persians in 490 b. c. 

Euripus : one of the channels that separate the island of 
Euboea from the mainland. 

THE STORY OF THE ARGONAUTS 

Page 66. Thermopylce : the famous pass, between northern and 
southern Greece, where Leonidas (L£ on'I das) and his three 
hundred Spartans made their heroic stand against v the Persians 
who invaded Greece in 480 b. c. 

Socrates: an Athenian philosopher and teacher, one of the 
noblest figures in all the world. After a long life, spent chiefly 
in the service of the state and in the moral instruction of his 
fellow citizens, he was unjustly condemned to death (399 b.c.), 
and, surrounded by his disciples, drank the fatal hemlock. 

ladies . . . hospitals of the East : referring to the services 
of Florence Nightingale (nTPIq gal) and other women in the 
Crimean (krT me'«n) War, which began in 1854. 

Queeti : Queen Victoria. 

[ 242 ] 


NOTES 


Page 67. Colchis : at the eastern end of the Black Sea. 

Minyan : the Minyas were a semimythical heroic race, 
descendants of Minyas (mfn'I as), founder of the city of Orchom- 
enus, in Bceotia (central Greece). Most of the Argonauts were 
of this race. 

Page 68. Delphi: a town in central Greece. Here was Apollo’s 
shrine, the most famous of antiquity, where through a priestess 
the god revealed the future to those who consulted him. The term 
"oracle” is here applied to the priestess through whom the reve- 
lation or utterance of the god is made. It also means the utterance 
itself, or the place where the utterance is delivered. 

Page 70. Hellespont : see the note to page 39. 

A res : a son of Zeus, and god of war, but not prominent in 
myth or worship. In Homer he delights in the din and tumult 
of battle, and revels in carnage. He is represented as a warrior 
in armor, with spear and torch. The Romans identified him 
with Mars. 

Page 71. Iolcos : a town in Thessaly; now called Volos (vd'los). 

Boeotia : the country north of Attica. 

Page 73. Centaur : the centaurs were a mythical race dwelling in 
the mountains of Thessaly (northern Greece). They were wild 
and coarse, but Chiron was an exception. 

Page 74. AZolid : descendant of Aiolus. ASson was the grandson 
of iEolus. 

Page 75. ALneas : a hero of the Trojan War. He sailed away 
from Troy and after many adventures reached Italy, where he 
became the founder of the Roman nation. 

Peleus : the son of Abacus and grandson of Zeus. He joined 
the expedition of the Argonauts and on this journey won for 
his bride the beautiful sea nymph Thetis. Their son Achilles, 
the hero of Homer’s Iliad, was by far the strongest, bravest, 
and fleetest of all the Greeks who fought against Troy. Achilles 
became to the Greeks the type of youthful beauty, valor, and 
chivalry. 

Page 76. Cceneus : originally a girl, named Csenis (se'nTs), beloved 
by Poseidon. The god changed her to a boy and made him 

[243] 


THE HEROES 


invulnerable. According to Vergil the boy Caeneus was changed 
back to his original form. 

Asclepius : in Homer he is a mortal hero, a physician. Zeus 
slew him for raising the dead (page 79). Later he was wor- 
shiped as the god of medicine and healing. He is usually repre- 
sented as a bearded man with an attendant serpent. The Romans 
called him ZEsculapius (es ku la'pi us). 

Apollo : a son of Zeus, and one of the most important of the 
gods of Olympus. He was god of manly youth and beauty, of 
music and poetry, and of prophecy (revealed by oracles ; see 
note on Delphi , page 68). He was also the god of healing, but 
he could send plagues as well as allay them, or cause sudden 
death by his arrows. As a divinity of the radiance of youth he 
received the epithet Phoebus, which means " bright,” " radiant.” 
At a late period (long after Homer’s time) he was identified with 
the sun god Helios (he'll os). Apollo is represented with bow 
and lyre. He was the first Greek god to find a place in Roman 
religion. 

Page 78. Pelion : a mountain in eastern Thessaly, near the coast. 
This mountain was famous in Greek mythology. 

Page 79. Asclepius : see the note to page 76. 

Peloponnese : the peninsula forming the southern part of 
Greece. " Peloponnesus ” is the common form of the name. 

Page 80. Lapithce : a mountain tribe of Thessaly. 

Hcemonia : the older, poetic name of Thessaly. 

Page 82. Hera : the sister and wife of Zeus. The Romans called 
her Juno. 

Page 93. Poly deuces : more commonly known by the Latin name 
Pollux. Castor and Polydeuces are called the sons of the magic 
swan in allusion to the fable that Zeus visited their mother (Leda) 
in the form of a swan. When they died they were placed among 
the stars, where they are commonly known as the constellation 
of Gemini (the Twins). 

Cceneus : see the note to page 76. 

Peleus . . . Achilles : see the note on Peleus, page 75. 

Page 94. Telamon : father of ZEas (e'as). The son is commonly 

[ 244 ] 


NOTES 


called Ajax, from a Latin form of the name. Ajax was next to 
Achilles in prowess and beauty. 

Oileus : father of A£as (Ajax) the Less. 

JEantes : the plural of ^Eas (Ajax). 

Troy : Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, and wife 
of King Menelaus (men e la'us) of Sparta, had been carried away 
by Paris, a Trojan prince, son of King Priam. To recover her 
the Greeks warred against Troy for ten years, and finally took 
the city and destroyed it. 

Page 95. Rhodope : a mountain range north of the Aigean Sea. 

savage Cicon tribes : in Thrace, north of the vEgean Sea. 

Strymon : a river emptying into the northern end of the 
yEgean Sea. It is now called the Struma. 

Page 96. Eurydice : Orpheus was the most famous of musicians. 
He played the lyre with such power that its strains not only 
charmed wild beasts, but moved trees and rocks. When Euryd- 
ice, his wife, died, he descended to Hades, and so pleased 
Pluto with his music that the god was willing to have Eurydice 
follow him back to earth on the condition that he should not 
look round at her until they reached the upper air. The anxiety 
of love, however, overcame him, and just as he was emerging 
from the lower world he looked behind him only to see her 
vanish in the darkness. 

Calliope: the chief of the nine Muses. She presided over 
eloquence and heroic poetry. The name is Greek and means 
" beautiful-voiced.” 

Dodona : in northern Greece, the seat of the most ancient 
oracle in Greece (see the note on Delphi , page 68). Here was 
the sacred oak of Zeus, and the responses of the oracle were 
read in the rustling of its leaves or in the bubbling of the brook 
that flowed beside it. 

Page ioi. Erinyes : the three avenging female spirits who bring 
retribution on those who are guilty of violating the laws of 
natural piety, hospitality, and the like, or who have committed 
perjury or homicide. In English they are commonly called 
the Furies, after the Latin Furiae (fu'rl e). 

[ 2 45 ] 


THE HEROES 


Three thousand years and mo?'e : three thousand years and 
more 4go. 

Page 102. Thetis : see the note on Peleus , page 75. 

Page 103. son: Achilles. 

short-lived : it was destined that if Achilles went to Troy he 
should win great renown, but perish in the flower of youth. 

no steel could wound : when Achilles was born, his mother 
dipped him in the Styx (stiks), a river of the lower world, and 
made him invulnerable except in the heel by which she held him. 
An arrow shot by Paris struck him in the heel and caused a 
fatal wound. 

Page 104. carved i?i stone: in the Elgin (el'gln) marbles, in the 
British Museum. These sculptured slabs of marble were origi- 
nally in the great temple of Athena on the Acropolis at Athens. 
This temple, called the Parthenon (par' the non), was the most 
perfect product of all Greek art. In 1687 it was shattered by an 
explosion. About 1811 most of the surviving sculptures were 
obtained by Lord Elgin, and soon afterwards purchased by the 
British Museum. These marbles are considered the most precious 
of existing sculptures. 

Chaos : the void or formless state of matter before the creation 
of the world ; sometimes personified by the Greeks as the most 
ancient of gods. 

Page 105. Samothrace : this island was a religious center. Here 
was found the famous statue called the Victory of Samothrace, 
which is now in Paris. 

Page 106. Lemnos: an island in the .Egean Sea, near the 
Hellespont. 

Homer : the great Greek poet. 

Vergil : a famous Latin poet. 

Page 107. appease his soul : the burial of the dead was obliga- 
tory ; its neglect by relatives was a crime. The souls of the 
buried could go directly to Hades; the souls of the unburied 
were compelled to wander on the bank of the river Styx (stiks), 
in the lower world, for a hundred years before the ferryman 
Charon (ka'ron) took them across the river to their abode. 

[246] 


NOTES 


Page i 08. Mysian : Mysia (mish'I a ) was an ancient country in 
northwestern Asia Minor. 

Rhyndacus : a river in northwestern Asia Minor. It is now 
called the Adranos (a'dra nos). 

Arganthus : in northwestern Asia Minor ; properly written 
Arganthonius (ar gan tho'nl us). 

Page i 09. Phasia?i stream : the river Phasis, in Colchis, at which 
the Argonauts ended their voyage. 

Bithynian : Bithynia was an ancient country of Asia Minor, 
touching on the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea. 

Page 1 1 o. Harpies : the name comes from the Greek word that 
means " snatch.” The Harpies are monsters usually represented 
as having the head and upper part of the body of a woman, with 
the wings, tail, legs, and claws of a bird. Originally they seem 
to have been personifications of devastating winds. 

Pandareos : according to Greek legend a native of Miletus 
(ml le'tus) who was slain for stealing a golden dog from the 
temple of Zeus in Crete. His daughters were reared by 
Aphrodite. 

Page i i 2. Echinades : these islands lie close to the mainland, and 
are supposed to have been formed by drift from the river 
Achelous. Their name is Greek, and means " hedgehogs.” 

Achelous : a river in western Greece, emptying into the 
Ionian Sea. 

Page 1 1 3. Euxine : the Greeks originally called the sea the Axine 
(ak'sin), or " Inhospitable,” from its storms and the savage tribes 
about it. They later changed the name, euphemistically, to 
Euxine, or " Hospitable.” 

Page 115. Black Cape: the Greek name of the promontory is 
Melaena (me le'na), meaning " black.” 

Thymbris : a branch of the Sangarius River. 

Wolf the river : the Greek name is Lycus (li'kus). 

Lycian shore : the shore of the river Lycus, which Kingsley 
just above translated "Wolf.” 

Page 116. the Titan: Prometheus. He formed man out of clay, 
and stole fire from heaven and taught him its uses. Zeus was 

[ 247 ] 


THE HEROES 


angry at his unselfish devotion to mankind, and had him chained 
to a rock on Mount Caucasus, where a vulture fed on his liver 
for ages without consuming it. Heracles finally released him 
(page 175). 

Page i i 8. Cytcea : a small town on the river Phasis, fabled as the 
birthplace of Medea. 

Page 123. Prometheus' wound : see the note to page 116. 

, Page 135. p<zan (pe'«n): a hymn or chant of thanksgiving for 
deliverance, addressed to Apollo or Diana. 

Page 137. Pagasce : to reach this bay again was like being at 
home. 

Page 139. Syrtes : the plural of Syrtis, which means "sandbank,” 
" quicksand.* These were off the coast of northern Africa. 

Lotus-eaters ' 1 shore: the shore of northern Africa, where 
Tunis (tu'nis) and Tripoli (trlp'6 IT) now are. The fruit of the 
lotus tree was supposed to produce a state of dreamy content in 
those who ate of it and cause them to forget home and friends. 

Cimmerian Bosporus : between the Black Sea and the Sea 
of Azov. 

Page 140. Moeotid lake : now called the Sea of Azov. 

Griffins : mythical monsters, half lion and half eagle. 

Rhipcean hills : an imaginary range of mountains fabled to 
be at the extreme north of the world. It has been suggested 
that the Ural Mountains (between Europe and Asia) are meant. 

Scythian archers : the Scythians were a savage nomadic 
people north of the Black Sea. They were noted for their 
archery. 

Tauri : an ancient cave-dwelling people of the Crimea. They 
were probably Cimmerians (page 1 39). Their religion was gloomy 
and horrible, consisting partly of human sacrifices. 

Hyperborei : probably northern Greeks or Macedonians (mas- 
e do'ni anz), although supposed to be a mythical people of the 
extreme north. See the note to page 22. 

Cronian Sea : the Baltic Sea has been suggested for this. 

Cimmerians': a mythical people of the remote northwest. 
The glens of the snow mountains suggest a country like Norway. 

[ 248 ] 


NOTES 


This people should not be confounded with the Cimmerians 
who dwelt about the Cimmerian Bosporus (page 1 39). 

Pages 140,141. fair land of Hermione : a mythical country. 

Page 141. 1 erne : an ancient Greek name of Ireland. Possibly 
Britain is meant. 

Page 142. fairy island: it has been suggested that this spot is 
the Azores (a zorz'), in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

Page 143. Malea : Cape Malea, the southeastern point of the 
Peloponnesus. 

Tartessus : a town on the southern coast of Spain. It is now 
called Cadiz (ka'diz). 

Iberian : see the note to page 30. 

Pillars of Hercules : Mount Abyla (ab'1 1 a), on the African 
side of the Strait of Gibraltar, and Mount Calpe (kal'pe), on the 
Spanish side, were anciently catted the Pillars of Hercules from 
the tradition that Hercules raised these mountains as marks of 
his progress when on his way to perform the labor of carrying 
off the red cattle of Geryon (page 23). Another account says 
that there was a single mountain, which Hercules rent in twain 
and thus formed the strait. 

Sardmia : one of the large islands west of Italy. 

Ausonian : the Ausonians were an ancient people of southern 
Italy. ** Ausonia ” came to be used by the ancient poets as a 
name for Italy. 

Tyrrhenian shore : Etrurian (e troo'rf an) or Etruscan (e trus'- 
k<m) shore, the western shore of Italy between the rivers Arno 
and Tiber. The Greeks called the inhabitants Tyrrhenians. 

Sirens : sea nymphs (usually spoken of as three), who by their 
singing allured mariners to their destruction. 

Page 147. Aphrodite : the Olympian goddess of love and beauty. 
The Romans identified her with Venus. Aphrodite appears to 
have been originally an Oriental deity of vegetation and the 
reproductive forces of nature. The name Aphrodite means 
** foam-born.” A Greek epithet of Aphrodite is ** anadyomene ” 
(an a di om'e ne), which means " rising out of the sea,” an 
allusion to her birth. 


[ 249 ] 


THE HEROES 


Idalian : of Idalium (I da'll um), an ancient town in the island 
of Cyprus (sl'prus), a center of worship of Aphrodite. 

Lilybceum : a promontory of western Sicily. 

Enceladus : one of the hundred-armed giants. He was slain 
by Zeus and buried under Mount ZEtna, in Sicily. See the note 
to page 28. 

Page 148. Chary bdis . . . Scylla : Scylla and Charybdis were rep- 
resented as female monsters dwelling in the strait between Italy 
and Sicily. Scylla is a rock on the Italian shore, facing the 
whirlpool Charybdis on the opposite shore. The passage was 
much dreaded by ancient mariners. To be " between Scylla and 
Charybdis ” is proverbial, and means to be between two dangers. 

Amphitrite : wife of Poseidon and goddess of the sea. 

Page i 50. Corcyra : a large island off the northwestern coast of 
Greece. It is now called Corfu (kor fob' or kbr'fu). 

Page 153. Liburnia : a country northwest of Greece, bordering 
on what is now called the Adriatic Sea. 

Cyclopes : see the note to page 4. 

Page 154. Hephcestus : the Olympian god of fire and of the arts 
connected with fire, such as the making of pottery and metal 
works. He had his forges under Mount y£tna (in Sicily) and 
other volcanoes. The Romans identified him with Vulcan. 

Lemnos : this island of the northern ZEgean Sea is spoken of 
by the ancients as being volcanic. Off the eastern coast is a 
shoal, which probably represents a sunken volcano. The island 
was sacred to Hephaestus. 

Page 155. fell at her knees, and clasped them: this was the 
custom of suppliants. 

Page 160. Phcebus : Apollo. See the note on Apollo , page 76. 

Page 163. AEolid : descendant of ^Eolus. Jason was the great- 
grandson of AIolus. See the note to page 74. 

stormy Euxine : see the note to page 1 13. 

Page 164. Syrtis : the singular of Syrtes (page 139). 

Page 165. Minos the just king: so noted was Minos for his 
justice that when he died he was made one of the judges of 
the souls of the dead in the lower world, 

[250] 


NOTES 


Page 168. ichor : (l'kor): an ethereal fluid that supplied the place 
of blood in the veins of the gods. 

Page 170. Cape of Malea: at the southeastern (not the south- 
western) point of the Peloponnesus. 

Laconian : of Laconia, the capital of which was Sparta. 

Page 174. Dioscuri: the word means "sons of Zeus.” See the 
note on Poly deuces, page 93. 

Page 175. Prometheus: see the note to page 116. 

Achilles : see the note on Peleus, page 75. 

Odysseus : one of the great chieftains in the Trojan War, and 
the hero of the Odyssey. He was famed for his craft, wisdom, 
and eloquence, which made him the typical hero of his race. Un- 
fortunately he is commonly known by the name Ulysses (6 lls'ez), 
which is a corrupt form of his Latin name, Ulixes (u llk'sez). 

Ithaca : off the western coast of Greece. 

THE STORY OF THESEUS 

Page 177. Troezene : a city in the Peloponnesus, near the north- 
eastern coast. Often called Troezen (tre'zen). 

Methana : a peninsula, with a city of the same name. The 
distances in Greece are not great, and the air is so clear that 
remote objects look near. 

AZgina : an island. The islands of Greece are beautiful, and 
the coloring is often wonderful. 

Page i 79. Crommyon : a promontory east of the Isthmus of 
Corinth. 

Page 182. Cecrops : myth says that he was the first king of Attica, 
and the founder of Athens. He introduced there the first elements 
of civilized life. According to legend the lower part of his body 
was that of a serpent. 

cicalas (si ka'kzs) : cicadas (si ka'das). They are often called 
" locusts.” 

Sunium : see the note to page 61. 

Hymettus , Pentelicus : mountains of Attica. From Pentelicus ' 
came the famous white marble with which the city was adorned. 

[251] 


THE HEROES 


Page 183. Aegeus: the husband of yEthra, from whom he had 
parted before Theseus was born. See page 1 77. 

Pallas : Pallas Athene. See the note to page 1 2. 

Bellerophon : through a false accusation this hero was sub- 
jected to various trials in the hope that he would be destroyed. 
But it was not AThra’s father (Pittheus) who drove him away, 
as Kingsley says, but Prcetus. The similarity of the two names 
Pittheus and Prcetus apparently caused Kingsley’s slip of the pen. 

Chimcera : a fire-breathing monster, usually represented as 
having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail 
of a dragon. 

thy treacherous father : see the note on Aegeus, page 183. >• 

sons of the Swan : see the note on Poly deuces, page 93. 

Eurotas : Castor and Polydeuces carried A^thra to Sparta 
(in the valley of the river Eurotas), where she became a slave of 
Helen, who was called the " pest of Greece” for having caused 
the Trojan War. 

Page 184. Ilium: a poetical name for Troy. The name Iliad 
(page 175) is derived from this. 

Page i 86. Eurystheus : a king of Mycenae (ml se'ne), in the Pel- 
oponnesus, in whose service Heracles performed his celebrated 
labors. 

Isthmus : Isthmus of Corinth. 

Epidaurus : a town on the eastern coast of the Peloponnesus. 

Page 192. Eleusis : a city in Attica. 

Page 194. Megara : a city and country of the Isthmus of Corinth. 

Page i 96. Pausanias : a noted Greek geographer and writer on 
art, of the second century of our era. There is still preserved 
his minute account of the places and objects of interest which 
he visited in Greece. 

Cithceron : a range of hills on the northwestern boundary 
of Attica. 

Furies : see the note on Erinyes, page 101. 

Bacchce : the maenads (me'nads), or women attendants and com- 
panions of the Olympian god Bacchus, or Dionysus (page 229), 
in his wanderings. The hills of Cythaeron were sacred to this god. 

[252] 


NOTES 


Salamis : an island southwest of Attica. Near this was fought 
the naval battle in which the Greeks defeated Xerxes (zurk'sez), 
in 480 b. c. 

Thriasian plai?i : the plain in Attica in which Eleusis is 
situated. 

Triptolemus : his father, Celeus (se'lus), befriended Demeter 
when she was searching the earth to find her daughter Perseph- 
one (page 232). In return for this kindness Demeter restored 
Triptolemus from a fever and made him great and useful (see the 
note on Phytalus, page 200). 

Deineter : sister of Zeus and goddess of the fruitful soil and 
of agriculture. Her worship was chiefly in connection with that 
of her daughter Persephone (page 232), the two being worshiped 
throughout Greece as the Great Goddesses. The Romans iden- 
tified her with Ceres (se'rez). 

Page 200. Phytalus : a hero of Eleusis who kindly received 
Demeter during her wanderings in search of her daughter (see 
the note on Persephone , page 232). In requital Demeter gave 
her special blessing to Eleusis, and from this spot sent out 
Triptolemus (page 196) to teach the world the knowledge of 
agriculture. 

Aphidnce : an ancient town in Attica. 

and after : and afterwards. 

Cephissus : a river of Attica, flowing through the plain of 
Eleusis. 

Parnes : a mountain sixteen miles north of Athens. 

Page 205. Damastes : subduer. 

Page 207. Phytalid : descended from Phytalus (page 200). 

Acharnce : the principal district of Attica, north of Athens, 
near Mount Parnes. 

hill where A thene dwells : the Acropolis. See the next note. 

Acropolis: the citadel of Athens, about two hundred feet 
above the city. Here stands the Parthenon. See the note on 
carved in stone , page 104. 

Page 208. Pallas : a brother of .Egeus. 

Pallantids : sons of Pallas (brother of ALgeus). 

[253] 


THE HEROES 


Page 21 i. Nepenthe: a potion or drug which was supposed to 
cause forgetfulness of pain and sorrow. The name comes from 
the Greek epithet (meaning " sorrow-banishing ”) applied to an 
Egyptian drug. 

Page 215. herald's staff : a herald carried a staff as the sign of 
his authority. 

Page 216. Panathenaic games : the games held at the Panathe- 
naea (pan ath t ne'a), the most ancient and important festival of 
Athens, celebrated in honor of Athena, the tutelary goddess of 
the city. 

Page 217. Dcedalus : the most famous Athenian artificer and 
architect (page 220). 

Minotaur : this monster was half man and half bull (page 225). 

Page 221. Icarian Sea: that part of the Aegean Sea where Icarus 
was drowned. 

Selinus : a Greek city of Sicily. Here are the extensive ruins 
of a number of ancient Greek temples. 

Page 222. Britomartis : a Cretan goddess, identified with the 
Greek Olympian goddess Artemis (ar'te mis) as patroness of 
fishers and sailors. The Romans identified Artemis with 
Diana (dl a'n#). 

Iolaus : the half brother or nephew of Heracles, whose chari- 
oteer and faithful attendant he was, assisting him in several of 
his labors. 

Page 228. Naxos : the largest, most beautiful, and most fertile of 
the Cyclades Islands. The island is connected with the worship 
of Dionysus. 

Page 229. Diofiysus : an Olympian deity, originally a god of 
vegetation, later the giver of the grape and its wine. He was 
also patron of dramatic art. See the note on Bacchce , page 1 96. 

Titian : the celebrated Venetian painter. The picture here 
referred to, " Bacchus and Ariadne,” is now in London, in the 
National Gallery. It was produced in 1523, for Alfonso I, Duke 
of Ferrara (fer r£'ra). The subject has been a favorite with 
artists. 

Page 230. Marathon : see the note to page 61. 

[ 2 54 ] 


NOTES 


Page 232. Persephone: the daughter of Zeus and Demeter 
(page 196). She was the wife of Hades, and queen of the lower 
world, having been abducted by Hades, who found her playing 
with her companions and gathering flowers in a valley of eternal 
spring in Sicily. Demeter sought for her the world over, and 
cursed the earth and brought on drought and famine. On appeal- 
ing to Zeus to help her, it was agreed that Persephone, while 
she could not leave the lower world permanently, having eaten 
food there, should spend two thirds of the year on earth with 
her mother. 

Pluto : the ruler of the lower world regarded as a grim god 
is called Hades ; in a more beneficent aspect he is called Pluto, 
"giver of wealth." Compare " plutocrat.” 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY OF 
NAMES 

KEY TO PRONUNCIATION 


a as in face 
a as in surface 
a as in fact 
d as in affect 
a as in far 
a as in after 
a as in afire 
e as in be 

Absyrtus 

Abydos 

Acharnae 

Achelous 

Acrisius 

Acropolis 

Adriatic 

1 Esea 

iEas 

PI. Mantes 
jEetes 
Aegean 
JEgeus 
iEgina 
iEneas 
iEolid 
iEolus 
iEson 
vEthalides 
jEthiop 


e as in begin 
e as in beg 
e as in basement 
6 as in baker 
i as in fine 
l as in fin 
o as in bone 
6 as in obey 

ab sfir'tiis 
a bi'dos 
d kar'ng 
ak e lo'us 
d kris'I us 
a krop'6 lis 
a dri at'ik 
e S'd 
e'as 

e an'tez 
e e'tez 
e je'dn 
e'jus 
t ji'nd 
£ ne'as 
e't lid 
e't lus 
e'sSn 

£ thal'T dez 
e'tlii op 


6 as in bdrder 
o as in bonnet 
6 as in connect 

0 as in long 

01 as in boiling 
bo as in boot 
do as in book 

u as in muse 

^Ethiopia 

iEthra 

JEtna 

Africa 

African 

Alcinous 

Alexander 

Alexandria 

Alope 

Alps 

Amalthea 

Amazon 

Amphitrite 

Amycus 

Anauros 

Ancseus 

Androgeos 

Andromeda 

Anthemusa 

Anticlea 


u as in musician 
u as in murky 
u as in must 
d as in circds 
g as in get 
i] like n in ink 
th as in thin 
y as in yet 

e thi o'pi a 
e'thrd 
et'na 
af 'ri ka 
af'rt kdn 
al sin'o us 
al eg zdn'dgr 
al eg zan'dri a 
dl'o pe 
Sips 

am dl the'a 
dm 'a zon 
am fi tri'te 
ami kus 
an o'rus 
an se'us 
an dro'je 5s 
an drSm^ dd 
an th£ mu'sd 
an ti kle'd 


[ 2 57 ] 


THE HEROES 


Aphetae 

af'£ te 

Aphidnae 

a fld'ne 

Aphrodite 

af r6 dl'te 

Apollo 

a p51'5 

Apostle 

a pos'’l 

Arab 

ar'db 

Arabian 

a ra'bl an 

Archipelago 

ar kl pSl'a g5 

Ares 

a'rez 

Arete 

d re'te 

Arganthus 

ar gSn'thus 

Argive 

ar'jiv 

Argo 

ar'gO 

Argonaut 

ar'gS ndt 

Argos 

ar'gSs 

Argus 

ar'gtis 

Ariadne 

Sr 1 ad'ne 

Arimaspi 

ar 1 mas'pi 

Artemis 

ar'te mis 

Asclepius 

as klg'pl us 

Asia Minor 

a'sha mi'ngr 

Asian 

a'shan 

Assyria 

a slr'I a 

Assyrian 

d sir'! an 

Atargatis 

a tar'ga tls 

Athamas 

ath'a mas 

Athene 

a thg'ne 

Athenian 

a the'nl an 

Athens 

ath'Snz 

Athos 

ath'os 

Atlantic 

at lan'tik 

Atlas 

at'ias 

Attic 

at'ik 

Attica 

at'I ka 

Ausonia 

6 sb'nl a 

Ausonian 

6 so'nl an 

Bacchse 

bak'6 


Baltic 

bdl'tlk 

Bellerophon 

ISr'o f on 

Beowulf 

ba'6 woblf 

Bithynian 

bl thln'I an 

Boebe 

be'be 

Bceotia 

b£ 5'shl a 

Bosporus 

b6s'p6 rhs 

Brimo 

bri'mo 

Britain 

brlt'’n 

British 

brltlsh 

Britomartis 

brlt 6 mar'tls 

Butes 

bu'tgz 

Cseneus 

se'nus 

Calais 

kai'a Is 

Calliope 

ka li'6 p€ 

Calydon 

kai'I d5n 

Canthus 

kan'thus 

Casius 

ka'shi us 

Cassiopeia 

kas 1 6 pe'ya 

Castor 

kas'tor 

Caucasus 

kb'ka sus 

Cecrops 

se'krSps 

centaur 

sSn'tbr 

Ceos 

s6'5s 

Cepheus 

sg'fus 

Cephissus 

s£ fls'tis 

Cercyon 

stir's! 6n 

Ceyx 

sg'Iks 

Chalciope 

kai sl'o pS 

Chalybes 

kai'I bez 

Chaos 

ka'Ss 

Chary bdis 

ka rlb'dls 

Chemmis 

kgm'Is 

Chersonese 

kftr'so nSs 

Chimaera 

kl me'ra 

Chiroh 

ki'ron 

Cicon 

si'kSn 


[ 258 ] 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


Cimmerian 

si me'rl <Sn 

Circassia 

s§r k&sh'I a 

Circassian 

sSr kash'&n 

Circe 

sftr'se 

Cithaeron 

si the'ron 

Cleopatra 

kle 6 pa'trd 

Cnossus 

nSs'us 

Cocalus 

k6k'd lus 

Colchi 

kSl'ki 

Colchian 

kSl'ki dn 

Colchis 

kol'kls 

Copaic 

kft pa'Ik 

Corcyra 

k6r si'ra 

Corinth 

kor'Inth 

Corynetes 

k6r I nS'tSz 

Cretan 

krg't&n 

Crete 

kret 

Crimea 

kri me'd 

Crimean 

kri me'&n 

Crommyon 

krom'I 5n 

Cronian 

krO'nl dn 

Cyclades 

slk'la dSz 

Cyclopes 

si klO'pez 

Cyrene 

si re'ne 

Cytaea 

si te'a 

Cythnus 

slth'nus 

Cyzicus 

slz'l kus 

Daedalus 

dSd'd lus 

Damastes 

da m&s'tez 

Danae 

d£n'& e 

Dardan 

dar'd&n 

Delphi 

dgl'fl 

Demeter 

d£ me'tgr 

Deucalion 

dft ka'II on 

Dictys 

dlk'tls 

Dionysus 

dl 6 ni'sus 

Dioscuri 

dl 5s ku'rl 


Dodona 

d6 do'na 

Dolion 

do'll on 

Don 

don 

Echidna 

& kld'na 

Echinades 

& kln'a dSz 

Edda 

Sd'a 

Egypt 

S'jlpt 

Egyptian 

§ jlp'sh&n 

Eleusis 

£ lu'sls 

Elgin 

Sl'gln 

Enceladus 

5n sSl'a dus 

Eos 

S'5s 

Epidaurus 

Sp I dd'rus 

Erinyes 

£ rln'I 6z 

Euboea 

ft be'a 

Euboean 

ft bS'&n 

Euphorbus 

ft fdr'biis 

Euripus 

ft ri'pus 

Eurotas 

ft ro't&s 

Euryale 

ft ri'a IS 

Eurydice 

ft rld'I sS 

Eurystheus 

ft rls'thQs 

Euxine 

uk'sln 

Fabulae 

fib'ft 16 

French 

frSnch 

Fury 

fu'ri 

Gaea 

jS'a 

Galatea 

gftl a te'a 

Geloni 

15'ni 

Geryon 

jg'rl on 

Gibraltar 

jl br51'tar 

Gorgon 

gdr'gSn 

Greece 

gres 

Greek 

grek 

Griffin 

grlf'In 


[ 259 ] 


THE HEROES 


Hades 
Haemonia 
Halcyone 
Haliacmon 
Harpy 
Hellas 
Helle 
Hellen 
PI. Hellens 
or Hellenes 
Hellespont 
Hephaestus 
Hera 
Heracles 
Hermes 
Hermione 
Herpe 
Hesperides 
Hippolyte 
Homer 
Hydrea 
Hylas 
Hymettus 
Hyperborean 
Hyperborei 

Iberia 

Iberian 

Icarian 

Icarus 

Iceland 

Ida 

Idalion 

Idas 

Idmon 

Ierne 

Iliad 

Ilium 


ha'dez 
he mo'ni d 
hai si'o ne 
ha IT dc'mon 
har'pi 
hSl'as 
hel'e 
hel'en 
hel'enz 
he le'nez 
hel'es pont 
he fes'tus 
lie'ra 
her'a klez 
hhr'mez 
ligr mi'6 ne 
hhr'pe 
hgs pgr'i dgz 
hi pol'i te 
hO'mgr 
hid'r£ a 
hi'las 
hi mgt'us 
hi pgr bo'r£ an 
hi pgr bo'r£ i 

i be'ri a 
i be'ri an 
i ka'ri dn 
Ik'd riis 
is'land 
i'da 

i da'll 5n 
i'das 
ld'mon 
i TTEne 
Tl'i dd 
il'ium 


Indian 

Ino 

Io 

Iobates 

Iolaus 

Iolcos 

Ionia 

Ionian 

Iopa 

Ireland 

Ister 

Isthmus 

Italy 

Ithaca 

Jason 

Kertch 

Lacedaemon 

Laconia 

Laconian 

Ladon 

Lapithae 

Larissa 

Lectonian 

Lemnos 

Lerna 

Liburnia 

Libya 

Libyan 

Lilybaeum 

Locri 

lotus 

Lycian 

Lycomedes 

Lycus 

Lynceus 


in'di dn 

i '110 

i'o 

i ob'd tez 
i 6 la'us 
i ol'kos 
i o'ni d 
i o'ni dn 
i'o pa 
iEland 
is'tgr 
is'mds 
it'd II 
ith'a ka 

ja'son 

kgrch 

las e de'mSn 
Id ko'ni a 
la ko'ni dn 
la'don 
ldpl the 
la ris'a 
lek'to'ni dn 
ISm'nos 
lhr'nd 
li bhr'ni a 
libT a 
lib'i dn 
lil i be'um 
lo'kri 
lo'tds 
lis'i dn 
lik 6 me'dez 
li'kus 
lin'sus 


[ 260] 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


Maeotid 

Magnesian 

Malea 

Marathon 

Marmora 

Medea 

Mediterranean 

Medusa 

Megara 

Meleager 

Memphis 

Methana 

Minos 

Minotaur 

Minyae 

Minyan 

Mopsus 

Muthoi 

Mysian 

Nausithous 

Naxos 

Neleus 

Nepenthe 

Nestor 

Nile 

Numidia 

Odysseus 

Odyssey 

(Enoe 

(Eta 

Oileus 

Olympian 

Olympus 

Oracle 

Orchomenus 

Orpheus 


m£ ot'id 
m£g ne'sh! dn 
ma'l§ d 
mdr'd thon 
mar'mo r a 
m£ de'a 

med 1 te ra'n£ an 
me du'sa 
mgg'd ra 
mel £ a'jgr 
mem'fis 
m£ tha'na 
mi'nSs 
mm'6 t6r 
min'! e 
min'! dn 
mop'sus 
mu'thoi 
mis'! an 

n6 sith'o us 

nak'sos 

ne'lus 

n£ pen'the 

nes'tor 

nil 

nft mid'! a 

6 dis'us 
od'I s! 
gn'6 e 
e'ta 
6 i'lus 
6 lim'pT an 
6 lim'pus 
or'a k’l 
dr kom'£ nus 
dr'fus 


Orphic 

Ossa 

Paeon 

Pagasae 

Palestine 

Pallantid 

Pallas 

Panathenaic 

Pandareos 

Pandion 

Paris 

Parnes 

Pausanias 

Pelasgi 

Peleus 

Pelias 

Pelion 

Peloponnese 

Peloponnesus 

Penelope 

Peneus 

Pentelicus 

Perdix 

Periphetes 

Persephone 

Perseus 

Persia 

Persian 

Phaea 

Phaeaces 

Phasian \ 

Phasis 

Phineus 

Phoebus 

Phoenicia 

Phoenician 

Pholoe 


dPfik 

Ss'a 

pe'on 
p^a se 
pdl'Ss tin 
pa lan'tid 
pdl'ds 

pan ath £ na'ik 
pan da'rg os 
pan di'on 
par'is 
par'ngz 
po sa'ni as 
pe las'ji 
pe'lus 
pe'l! as 
pe'l! on 
pel'o pd nes 
pgl 6 pd ne'sus 
pe nel'6 pe 
p£ ne'us 
pen tan kus 
pur'diks 
pgr ! fe'tgz 
pgr sef'6 ne 
phr'sus 
pftr'shd 
ptir'slidn 
fe'a 
fe a'sez 
fa'sh! dn 
fa'sis 
fl'nus 
fe'bus 
f£ nisli'i d 
fe nish'dn 
f 51'6 e 


[261] 


THE HEROES 


Phrixus 

frik'sus 

Phytalid 

fit'd lid 

Phytalus 

f it'd lus 

Pindus 

pin'dus 

Pirithous 

pi rith'6 us 

Pittheus 

pit'thus 

Pityocamptes 

pit i 6 k&mp'tez 

Pluto 

ploo'to 

Pollux 

pol'uks 

Polydectes 

pol 1 dSk'tez 

Polydeuces 

pol I du'sez 

Poseidon 

p6 si'don 

Procrustes 

pr6 krus'tez 

Proetus 

pre'tus 

Prometheus 

pr6 me'thus 

Propontis 

pr6 pon'tis 

Psylli 

sill 

Rhipaean 

ri pg'dn 

Rhodes 

r5dz 

Rhodope 

r5d'6 pe 

Rhyndacus 

rin'dd kus 

Roman 

rd'mdn 

Rome 

rom 

Russian 

rush'dn 

Saga 

sa'gd 

Salamis 

sdl'd mis 

Samos 

sa'mos 

Samothrace 

sdm 6 thra'se 

Sangarius 

s3,q ga'ri us 

Sardinia 

sar dinl d 

Saronic 

sd ron'ik 

Sauromatae 

s6 rSm'd te 

Sciathos 

si'a thos 

Sciron 

si'rdn 

Scylla 

sil'd 

Scyros 

si'rds 


[ 


Scythian 

sithl dn 

Selinus 

s£ li'nus 

Semele 

sem'£ le 

Sepias 

se'pi &s 

Serbonian 

s8r b5'ni dn 

Seriphos 

s$ ri'fos 

Sevastopol 

s£ vas'tfc p6l 

Sicily 

sis'! li 

Sinis 

si'nis 

Sinope 

si n5'p6 

Siren 

si'rgn 

Socrates 

sok'rd t€z 

Spain 

span 

Spanish 

spdn'ish 

Sparta 

spar'td 

Spartan 

spar'tdn 

Stheno 

sth6'n5 

Strymon 

stri'mon 

Sunium 

su'ni um 

Syria 

sir'i a 

Syrian 

sirl dn 

Syrtis 

shr'tis 

PL Syrtes 

sur'tez 

Talos 

talos 

Tanais 

tdn'd is 

Tartessus 

tar tgs'us 

Tauri 

td'ri 

Telamon 

tSl'd mon 

Telemachus 

t£ ISm'd kus 

Tempe 

t§m'pe 

Tenos 

te'nSs 

Teutamenes 

tft tdm'^ nez 

Thebes 

thebz 

Thermopylae 

thSr mSpl le 

Theseus 

the'siis 

Thessalian 

th<5 sail dn 

Thessaly 

thSs'd li 


262 ] 


PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 


Thetis 

the'tls 

Troy 

troi 

Thrace 

thra'se 

Turkish 

thr'klsh 

Thracian 

thra'shan 

Tyre 

tlr 

Thriasian 

thr! a'sl an 

Tyrrhenia 

tl re'nl a 

Thymbris 

thlm'brls 

Tyrrhenian 

tl rg'nl an 

Thynias 

thinT as 



Tiphys 

ti'fis 

Yergil 

vhr'jll 

Tiryns 

ti'rlnz 

Voluspa 

vftl'oo spa 

Titan 

ti'tan 



Triballi 

tri ban 

Xerxes 

zfirk'sgz 

Triptolemus 

trip t61'£ mhs 



Triton 

tri'tbn 

Zetes 

zg'tez 

Trcezene 

tr£ z6'n6 

Zeus 

zus 

Trojan 

trO'jan 




[263] 



























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